


What we do for Love

by TheLadyBath



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Adventure, Brother/Sister - Freeform, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-16 18:38:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9284966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyBath/pseuds/TheLadyBath
Summary: We know how important family is to MacGyver and how he would go to any length to protect those he loves. What if there is somebody who he loves dearly, but who refuses to be protected?





	1. Chapter 1

Mac stood in a conference room at the Phoenix Foundation and stared at Bozer's back. His best friend was pissed at him and he had every reason to be. "Bozer...I'm sorry," he began, but got no further because the other man cut him off.

"You lied to me Mac. To me." There was anger in his voice, but mostly it was hurt and betrayl and that made Mac's heart twist in his throat.

"I never wanted to lie to you. It was protocol. I couldn't say anything to you."

"Protocol?" Bozer's voice was full of disbelief. "I don't even know you."

"Bozer," Mac did not mean to sound so hurt, but Bozer's anger cut deep. "You know me better than anybody else. You've known me before all this...before the Army. When I was a kid with no place to go. You know me, because you are part of what made me who I am."

Bozer stared at the other man. Everything that Mac said was true and he desperately wanted to believe him, but his anger was to hot. "This creep came into my home Mac. How the hell did he know?"

"I don't know, Bozer," Mac said. "I...," Mac froze in mid word. "Oh God," he whispered. "Bozer. I swear to you, I will make this right. But I need to go take care of something." He was speaking to Bozer's back and he took the very slight relaxation that he saw in the man's body, as approval to leave.

Mac ran down the hall toward the parking garage. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have been so blind? Why had he not thought about...He was not watching where he was going and almost ran into Jack as the larger man's bulk blocked the entry into the garage.

"Going somewhere?" Jack's voice was surprisingly neutral.

"Jack," Mac said. "Please." Jack heard the steel in Mac's tone. He had heard that tone before and had learned that in such instances, it would behoove him to either be with Mac or to just get out of the way.

"I'm not going to prevent you from going," Jack's voice became more gentle as he saw the real desperation in his partner's eyes. "I'm just going to go with you. Watch your back." His gaze bore into Mac's eyes until the younger man nodded. "Good," Jack smiled. "Let's go."

"I'll drive," said Mac as he jumped into the driver's side of the red jeep.

"Do you want to tell me where we're going?" Jack asked Mac, but he was not expecting an answer. Mac was staring ahead intently; lost in his thoughts.

Several freeways later, Mac pulled of into an LA suburb that probably had a name, but it was so small and so remote that nobody bothered with it. Mac continued to drive turning right and left and right again seemingly at random. Finally, he turned on to a very quiet residential street with rows of condominiums springing up from small, neat lawns.

Parking the jeep, Mac made his way across the street to a four unit condominium. Without thinking he entered the entrance code and pulled open the door. He practically bounded up the stairs with Jack, confused as ever, close on his heels. Jack was still trying to figure out what Mac was hiding out here. A girlfriend? Sure, maybe…but why keep it a secret. Another thought struck Jack – would Mac be hiding a kid? The idea was so crazy that Jack almost laughed out loud…and yet…

Mac had reached the door of one of the two upstairs units and taking a deep breath, knocked. There was a momentary pause and Jack heard rustling behind the door and thought he caught shadows under the door as somebody looked through the peephole. In a moment, the door was flung open and a young woman stood on the threshold. Her hair was a dark honey blonde and her eyes a greyish blue that seemed to change colors with the light. She was almost as tall at Mac, but more slightly built. Jack noticed with appreciation that she still had curves where it mattered although she was quite slender.

Jack's musings were interrupted by a shout of pure joy. "Mac," the young woman cried out and threw herself into his friend's arms. Mac was not his usual shy self and happily and enthusiastically wrapped his arms around the woman swinging her around in the hallway and then burying his face in her hair. The two stood like this for a long moment with their arms around each other and the young woman's face resting on Mac's chest. Finally, Jack felt the need to clear what was becoming an awkward silence and he cleared his throat.

He noticed somewhat guiltily that Mac actually jumped a little and the woman release her embrace. Mac still had his arms around her as he looked over at his partner, his eyes a combination of joy, relief, and what Jack could only call defiance.

"Jack," Mac said struggling to keep his tone entirely conversational, "I'd like you to meet my sister."


	2. Chapter 2

Mac looked at Jack, a slightly sheepish smile playing across his lips. "Jack, I'd like you to meet Elspeth Corinne MacGyver, my little sister."

The young woman cringed slightly at the sound of her full name, but offered Jack her hand. "Our mom liked authentic Scottish names," she said. "I much prefer Cory."

It took all of Jack's concentration to force his gaping mouth to close and then all of his efforts to force out the question, "Sister?".

"Perhaps this is a conversation that we can have inside," the young woman, Cory spoke up. "We are making a scene out here. She opened the door to her apartment and let Jack in. She and Mac followed.

Jack's head was spinning; of all the things he had expected, this was not one of them. How was it possible that he did not know this? He looked over at his younger partner. Mac gave him a somewhat apologetic look.

"Cory just moved here from the East Coast. I was going to bring her by and introduce her, but…," his voice trailed off.

Jack was beginning to regain his equilibrium. Why should it surprise him that Mac had secrets? They moved in a world of secrets. If this was the only one, the two of them were doing pretty well.

"I am so sorry, Jack," Cory said. "I'm afraid secrecy is a part of my job."

That's when it hit Jack. The thing that had been in the back of his mind from the moment he had seen Cory. Something so familiar that he had completely overlooked it. "You work for the CIA," he said with complete certainty, his eyes focused on her sweatshirt which bore the logo of the Central Intelligence Agency on a patch on the left side.

Cory nodded and smiled. "Yes," she said. "I'm one of their profilers. Mac knows exactly what

"One of their best profilers," Mac added, the pride evident in his voice.

"After Mac was …," she trailed off for a moment, struggling to get the words out, "…I couldn't be here when Mac was shot because I was on assignment," Jack realized that Cory was holding Mac's hand; the memory still too fresh and painful. "When Mac moved here, I requested a transfer to come and work in the local LA office; it was finally approved just two weeks ago."

Some parts of the puzzle were staring to come together for Jack. "Now that you two have brought me current, how about you give me some real details. Cory looked at her brother; Mac shrugged his shoulders lightly, "OK. Jack. You're right."

"I'll get some coffee," Cory said and headed off to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Mac started. He realized that he was now apologizing to yet another friend for not being honest.

Jack saw Mac's discomfiture and smiled. "S'OK kid. Its part of what we do. Now how about you talk to me?"

Mac nodded. "You know most of it. Cory was seven when our mom died and nine when Dad left. Our Grandpa raised us both for a while, but eventually Bozer's folks stepped and took both of us in."

"They really were family," Cory had come in carrying the coffee and continued the conversation. "When Mac went into the Army, they made sure that I finished college and then grad school. I was recruited by the CIA while finishing my last year at Fordham and working on my dissertation."

Mac took over the story, "With her background in Psychology and Sociology, Cory was trained as a profiler."

"When my most recent assignment ended, I asked for a transfer to LA," Cory continued. "And here I am." She looked from her brother to Jack. "For what its worth, Mac has told me all about you and I was really looking forward to meeting you….but then Mac told me that something had come up at work."

That was the entry that Mac had needed. "Yeah, Cory. About that. We need to talk."

Cory nodded, poured herself a cup of coffee and plopped into an arm chair to face the two men.

Mac took a deep breath. "You know about the Phoenix Foundation, but you don't know everything. Its not really a think tank. Its an agency….not unlike the CIA."

Cory was staring at Mac. "Are you telling me that you are a government agent?" She was not angry, but she was surprised. "My brother…the super secret spy?" Mac smiled and shrugged, but then became serious again. "I wouldn't be allowed to tell you any of this, but there is a situation." Cory remained silent, but cocked an eyebrow.

At this point Mac began to struggle with the words. How does one tell one's younger sister that somebody was sent to assassinate her brother? And worse, that this monster with no name was going after family too.

Jack looked at his young partner sympathetically as he continued to search for the right words. "Basically, his crazy bitch ex-girlfriend hired an assassin to kill him," Jack blurted.

Mac gave the older man a dirty look that Jack blithely ignored; this was not the time for subtlety.

"Nikki?", Cory asked, "but I thought that she was…"

"No such luck," said Jack. "She's a traitor and worse. And now she's after Mac and…," he paused, looking straight at the young woman, " his family."

"Thanks a lot Jack," Mac said sourly. Then to Cory, "But essentially, Jack is right."

"Ok," Cory said slowly; that was a lot to process. "So now what?"

To this, Mac had a ready answer. "Pack a bag. You're coming with us. We're going to Phoenix where we can keep you safe."

"Um. No." Cory said with steely finality. "I've no intention of going anywhere. I've trained too long and too hard, to be chased away by some Boogie Man."

"Cory," Mac was trying to be patient and failing. "This is not a joke. This guy kills people for a living. He's killed before." Mac had stood up and walked over to sit next to Cory.

"Were any of them trained agents," Cory countered.

"No," Mac had to concede.

"Mac," Cory said gently. "I'll be fine. I promise. I can take care of myself."

"Now that's something I can judge," Jack said in an effort to break the impasse. "Show me your weapon." Without hesitation, Cory went to her desk drawer and removed her Sig Sauer 229. She ejected the magazine , racked back the slide, put the safety on, inspected the chamber to make sure that there were no cartridges and handed the gun and the magazine to the older man. Jack took the weapon, inspected it, put the magazine back in, inspected it again and handed it back. Where's your back up. Cory went through the same process with the Walther PPK that she had purchased while in England. Jack nodded approvingly. Finally he asked, "Where's the one you use for personal protection?" Cory smiled, and went into the bedroom to retrieve the 9mm Kahr elite which she kept in her nightstand. Another inspection and Jack nodded. "OK," Jack said, with some satisfaction. "They seem to train you well at Langley."

"You should know," Cory retorted. "They trained you too."

Jack was surprised that she knew and was about to ask, but then he heard Mac chuckle quietly, "Profilers…remember?"

Jack glowered at both brother and sister. "I'm going to check the house, he growled."

Ten minutes later, he came back to the living room. "This place is about as secure as possible," he said.

"See, Mac," Cory said. "I'll be fine."

"I still don't like it," her brother said. "This guy…he's a shadow..a ghost."

"I will be careful, I promise."

"Call me every day," Mac had his hands on Cory's shoulders, his eyes boring into hers, willing her to understand the gravity of the situation.

"I will, I promise."

Mac bent down and kissed Cory's forehead like he'd been doing since she was a little girl. "Please…please..be careful," he whispered. Cory smiled and nodded. "I will. I love you Big Brother," she whispered in his ear.

It was after eleven at night by the time Mac and Jack left and Cory had work in the morning.

As much as she had tried to put up a brave face and as much as she had meant it when she told Mac that she would not be leaving her house, what Mac had told her was scary. She checked her guns again and made sure all the windows and doors were secure. It took her a while, but she finally fell asleep.

Something woke Cory up and she opened up her eyes to complete darkness. She was about to close her eyes and go back to sleep when she realized that a spot in her room was darker than the others. She lay still and looked at that point. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that it was a shadow and that it was moving toward her. She tried to reach for her gun, but an arm as strong as a metal bar pinned her to the bed. "Oh, no. I don't think so, Cory," the voice purred in a voice that, oddly, was completely unaccented.

Cory saw him raise his other arm and realized by the silhouette that he was holding a gun. Her last coherent thought was, "Oh, Mac. I'm so sorry," before the weapon made very painful contact with her skull and she stars and then darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Mac and Jack were making good time on the freeway, but Jack noticed that his partner was still pre-occupied.

"Hey," he gently nudged the blond. "Are you OK."

It seemed that Mac was worlds away and it took him several minutes to realize that he was being asked a question and to reply. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"I guess so. I still wish we could have made Cory come with us. I know that she is trained, but I..."

Jack smiled. "I hear ya, Brother," he said with feeling. "I have only known your sister for about two hours, but I don't think that you could have made her do anything that she didn't want to do. You know, I'm not a profiler, but she just didn't strike me as the type."

Jack was rewarded by hearing Mac's gentle chuckle. "God, Jack. You've no idea. When she was twelve, Bozer and I - we were about fifteen or sixteen then - planned to go camping. It was November and cold. I told Cory that she could not come – that it was too long a hike and too cold. That it would not be safe for her." Mac actually laughed a little. "God. She was so mad. You should have seen the look in her eyes; she would have chewed nails if she could...Anyway. We went and left her behind. We'd hiked fifteen miles into the woods and set up. We had a fire going and were ready to bed down. We'd heard rustling in the forest. We knew it couldn't be animals, because of the fire, but something was there. We both got sticks and walked toward the noise. Just then, Cory stumbled into the clearing. She had followed us. Full pack and everything. She had hiked the last five miles in the dark."

Jack was impressed. "Twelve?"

"Yeah," Mac said. "She was a little dehydrated and pretty scraped up and bruised from a couple of falls that she had taken, but she had done it. She's found us." Mac fell silent as he recalled, how she had run to him and how he had pulled her into a hug, just happy that she was OK; how he had felt her tremble – she had been scared, but she would never admit it. Mac continued, "We were all in so much trouble when got back the next day. Mrs. Bozer had found Cory's note, but she was sure that Cory would get lost. She accused us of goading her and Cory was in trouble for running off. We were all grounded for a month." Jack heard the smile in Mac's voice. "But I sure as hell, never tried to make my sister do anything."

Then Mac's voice got grimmer. "But this is different. Whoever this guy is, he got to Bozer..."

"But Bozer is not a trained agent, she is," Jack interrupted with more certainty than he actually felt.

Mac just grunted non-committaly.

"Look," Jack continued wanting to pull his friend from his mood. "Call her. Make sure that she's OK."

Mac checked his watch. "Its after midnight. She'll kill me if I wake her up. I'll call her tomorrow morning when she is getting ready for work. At this point, that's only five hours away."

Five hours later, Mac was staring at his cell phone as if it was one of the bombs that he had to defuse. He had been calling Cory for half an hour straight and the fact that she had neither called nor texted had him more worried than he wanted to admit.

"We need to go back and check on her," Mac told Jack when the clock hit 6 am. Its not like her. Maybe he...," Mac could not finish.

"No," Jack cut him off. "He would have called to taunt you. Keeping quiet is not his MO...Maybe she just forgot her phone...or its broken...or...," Jack's voice trailed off – this was exactly the same conversation they were having about Bozer; and that had almost turned out very badly. "I'll drive," Jack said as the two men ran toward the car.

In traffic, the drive was agonizingly slow and they did not reach the condo until almost 7. Mac ran to the front door and punched in the code. Both men took the steps two at a time and reached the apartment at the same time.

Mac reached for the door, but Jack knocked his hand away and shook his head emphatically. He motioned Mac to take a position flat against the wall on one side of the door as he took the opposite side. With gun in hand and the safety off, Jack reached for the door. It opened the moment he touched it.

Jack heard Mac draw a breath, but when he looked up, his partner was calm, although Jack could read the tension well enough to know how concerned Mac really was. Opening the door further, Jack led with his gun and Mac followed.

It was a small apartment and took only a few minutes to check everything. Mac was trying to concentrate on his job.

"The bed's been slept in," he stated the obvious. He looked at the pillow and his heart sank. "Jack," he called out. "Look." On the snow white pillow case, there was a splattering of tiny spots – reddish brown in color.

"It doesn't mean anything," Jack said, knowing that it was a lie. They both knew exactly what it meant.

"Oh my God," breathed Mac, in despair.

Just then, his cell phone vibrated.


	4. Chapter 4

Mac checked his phone. Jack saw all color drain from his friend's face. "He has her." Mac's tone was grim. "Look." Mac handed the phone to the other agent. Jack took the phone and read the screen.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice. Is that what little girls are made of? Lets' find out." The message was signed, "William Shakespeare."

Jack read the message several times looking for something, anything that he could use. "I'm not a genius like you, Mac," Jack started, "but I do know that Shakespeare didn't write that."

Mac was staring at the s screen on his phone as if he could pull his sister through it and into safety. "Mac?" Jack prompted, putting his hand on the other man's shoulder.

Mac started at the contact, but he tore his eyes from his phone. "Sorry, what?"

Jack hauled up the younger man and forced eye contact. "Mac. Buddy. I get it. But I need you to focus. I need that super brain of yours firing on all cylinders." Mac stared into his friend's eyes for a moment more. He wanted to argue. Wanted to yell, to punch something, but none of that would help Cory. He drew a deep breath and nodded.

"You're right," he said slowly. "No. This is definitely not Shakespeare." He stopped and thought. "It's clearly a message to me. He wants me to find him." A pause. "I just don't know...". Mac looked up, his eyes blazing. He was focused now on the solution; on getting his sister back. "Unless...," Mac dialed his phone.

"Riley? Hi." He listened for a minute, his face growing stark. "No. She's not here...yeah...yeah...I think he does have her." Mac took a deep breath. "Riley...I need you to see if you can track a text message. It came in on my phone at 7:12 am. Its probably from a burner phone, but anything you can find. Also...and this is going to sound really weird...see if you can find something on William Shakespeare." Mac waited for a minute, "Yeah – not that one. That's the name we got to work with."

_Mac and Jack drove back to Phoenix. Mac was silent most of the way, staring ahead and chewing his lip. Jack tried to engage him in conversation several times, but he was clearly not paying attention and after the fourth attempt, Jack stopped.

Riley was waiting for them in the large conference room at Phoenix...and so was Thornton. She walked up to Mac immediately, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get her back," she said quietly, but with full authority. "I promise." Mac looked at his boss and just nodded.

Riley cleared her throat. "Ok. Here's what I have." She looked at Mac a little guiltily. "Its not much." She projected on to the screen. "You're right – that text did come from a burner phone so tracing it is impossible. I could however figure out where and when it was activated." A new image came up on the screen. "This drugstore, in Northridge. Luckily it looks like this place had a little problem with robberies. The owner put in a security camera and look at what I found."

The team stared as the man they knew only as Suspect 218 walked in. He did not look right or left or even at the camera, but they saw enough to be sure that it was the same man. "This was taken about 6:30 this morning," Riley said. "I tried to see if I could get more...to see where he went, but this is all I could get."

"This is more than we had," Mac said. "Thank you."

"Ok. Riley said. "Now about a search for Shakespeare." Thornton, raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow, but said nothing.

"We know that he was in California at least starting this morning and probably can limit his location to Los Angeles and the surrounding areas." Everybody nodded. "I basically set up a very broad query for any type of mention of the name...credit cards, telephone call, and text...anything that is attached to a name." Riley typed furiously and a scroll of names appeared on the screen. A few more buttons pressed and the list was reduced to one person. "This is William Shakespeare," Riley said with just a hint of smirk. "But I'm pretty sure its not the one you are looking for."

She responded to the inquiring glances. "Look. This guy is seventy-five years old and lives in a nursing home in Camarillo. The guy we say could not be more than 35 or 40 tops."

"Expand the search," Thornton ordered. "Try various short forms of the name. Try 'Wm', 'Will', 'Bill'.

Riley nodded and several more names appeared on the screen. None of them could have been the illusive Suspect 218.

Mac was staring at the screen. "Hold on," he mumbled, pulling his phone out and looking at it intently. "Son of a Bitch," he swore under his breath; something so unusual that everybody stared at him. "Look," Mac said, showing the phone to Riley. "Look at how he wrote the name. I missed it the first time thinking it was just a typo. But its not. Its part of the message."

Riley nodded and typed a new search entry, "William Shake S. Peare." She repeated with the various variations on William.

"There." Jack was the first to see the name. "Bill Shake S. Peare." Mac clapped Jack on the back.

"Where is he, Riley?"

"This was at a rental car place in El Segundo, she said. At about 4 am this morning."

Jack nodded. "All cars now have trackers. Riley, can you get in and see where the car is right now." Riley was nodding even as her fingers were already flying across her keyboard.

"I found the car. Scholl Canyon Landfill. Its about 20 miles from here."

"OK," Mac said turning to door. "Lets go."

"No." The word was said quietly but with great authority and Mac turned to look at Thornton who had also risen. "This is a trap. You know that. I can't let you walk into that trap, Mac. Not even for this."

"This is my sister we're talking about. You can't expect me to just sit by."

"I expect you to obey orders," was the curt reply.

Jack stepped in, "Woah. Woah...how about you give us a couple of minutes." His eyes raked the room indicating that he wanted privacy, "alone."

After everybody had filed out, Mac turned on Jack, blue eyes blazing. "If you think that I am just going to sit here and wait while my sister and…," he paused for a moment searching for the right word, "...the rest of my family are in danger you...".

Jack cut him off, "That's exactly what I expect you to do. This guy is gunning for you. We'd all be crazy to let you expose yourself..especially when he had had the time to set up everything and wait for you. Nope. Not going to happen." Jack took a deep breath and put his hands on the other man's shoulders, "I get it. I do. I swear to you, I will get her back. But I can only do that if I don't have to worry about you."

Mac looked intently at his friend and Jack stared back unflinchingly until Mac gave just the slightest of nods.

With that, Jack rested his hand on Mac's shoulder for just a moment and then, without another word, walked out to meet the rest of the team.


	5. Chapter 5

Mac watched Jack walk out. He hated being left behind and to be left behind when Cory was in danger was intolerable. He understood the need to obey orders and he understood Thornton's and Jack's position. He even understood that his presence would put the team in danger. Nothing that he understood with his head helped make him feel any better about watching his team get into a car and drive away

Mac's phone vibrated with a. text message. Thinking that Riley or Jack has a question, Mac pulled the phone from his pocket. "Sugar and Spice and everything nice. Is that what Little Girls are made of? Let's look inside and find out." The signature was familiar. "Bill Shake S. Peare.".

"Oh my God," Mac whispered to himself. The threat to Cory was crystal clear as was the implicit call out to Mac. He had no choice but to find Suspect 218 and face him. Mac just hoped that he would get there in time to save Cory and his friends.

Cory opened her eyes…at least she thought that her eyes were open. It was as dark as it was behind her eyelids. Cory's head ached and she felt nauseous. She was sure that she had been drugged, not only hit. Her first truly coherent thought again went to her older brother. He had been right. Had she put him in danger by her stubbornness? She knew the answer to that – of course she had. She needed to get out and to let him know that she was safe. She was clearly bait; this assassin, and she had no doubt of the identity of her captor, was going to use her. She stopped…use her for what? With a sickening certainty, she knew – he would kill her brother.

The thought caused a surge of visceral panic to shoot through her body. She had to do something. She couldn't just wait. Cory tried to move and realized several things all at the same time; she was in a very small, enclosed space, her hands and feet were bound, and she hurt everywhere. Fighting another jolt of panic, she forced herself to be calm and to take stock of her situation. Where was she? It was close and cramped. She felt something rough on her face. She sniffed carefully, did she smell gasoline? She was in car…more specifically, in the trunk of a car.

Her mouth was dry and she tried to lick her lips, only to figure out that she was also gagged. That should not have surprised her, she thought cynically. Cory tried to move her arms and realized that they were bound in front of her. Her heart leapt at the first positive development in a while. She carefully brought her hands to her face. It took some doing, but she was able to peel the tape of her mouth.

Relieved she licked her lips with a dry tongue, which brought no relief. She used her teeth the tear off the tape holding her hands together. "That was easy," she thought in relief.

Loosening the bonds on her legs proved more difficult as there was very little room for her to move. She twisted and contorted her body in many ways trying to reach the tape on her legs. Finally, after much straining, she was able to get her fingers under the tape and pull. Fifteen minutes later she was finally free.

Jack drove the car with focused intensity. He was painfully aware that he had hurt Mac by not letting him come along and was just as aware that he had done the right thing; now if his head and his heart agreed, he's feel a hell of a lot better. Something was bothering Jack. Something at the back of the agent's head was screaming that it all felt wrong and that he was missing something important. Something that would make a difference.

He, Riley and Thornton arrived at the landfill and carefully stepped out of the car. Jack and Thornton had their weapons ready as they scanned the area, but saw nothing threatening. Jack continued to scan, his nerves were singing and he was trying to remain calm and focused. Something was wrong...something was going to happen...

Mac ran to his car and gunned the engine out of the Phoenix parking lot. How long had it been since he received the text? Would the rest of the team already be at the landfill. A cold realization hit Mac. They were also part of the bait – not just Cory. If he did not get there on time, they would die...they would all die. Mac stared at the road ahead and floored the accelerator praying that he was not going to be too late.

Lying on her side in the darkness, Cory was trying to plan her next move. If the car was newer – the last fifteen years or so, it had a child release lever somewhere inside – all cars did...she just needed to find it. Her hands slowly passed along the floor and sides of the trunk searching for something that could be a latch.

Slowly, methodically, Cory worked around the cramped inside of the car. Her fingers tangled in something. She stopped and tried to determine what she was holding. Wires. Coated wires. There were maybe three or four of them. She gently traced their path and realized that they ran from outside into the trunk and that her captor had shut the trunk pinching the wires. That seemed careless and odd...and speaking of careless...something did not seem right. Her captor, had made it very easy for her to undo her bindings; if he had wanted to really restrain her, he would have pinned her hands in back. Why did he not do that? It seemed odd.

Why put her in the trunk, knowing that she would be able to get out of the restraints and escape. What would be the point. If she was bait, he would want to hold on to her, wouldn't he? And how careless is he to have let those wires be caught.

Nothing made sense. Something about the bunch of wires was tripping a memory. Something that Mac had told her about his time in the Army disarming bombs. She stopped to focus in order to pull that memory forward.

Carefully, slowly Jack approached the car followed by Thornton and Riles. He still neither saw nor heard anything that posed a threat and that is what scared him most. The doors were closed, but the windows were rolled down. Jack looked inside, but it was empty. His gaze raked over the car and landed on the trunk. Was it possible? He quickly made his way over and knelt down. He tried to listen, but heard nothing.

"Cory?" He called out quietly. "Cory, are you in there? Its Jack. It'll be OK. Everything will be OK. We'll get you out."

Cory heard a familiar voice and was jolted out of her reverie. The memory was so close to the surface now. It just needed one more push. "Jack?" She responded. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Cory. Its me. I brought some friends. We'll get you out in a minute. Just hold on. I just have to figure out how to jimmy this lock. Jack put the safety on his gun and slipped it back into the holster taking out a pocket knife. "I think I can pick the lock on the trunk and have you out of here in minute..." Jack stopped in mid sentence. "There are some wires stuck in here. We'll bag them for evidence once I've got you out."

Just as Jack was reaching for the lock, the memory came flooding back to Cory in full force. Mac telling her about his bomb disposal duties in Afghanistan and describing in detail what he saw. Everything then made perfect, horrible sense. "No!," Cory screamed at the top of her lungs.


	6. Chapter 6

I hope that you enjoy.

"Jack! No!" Jack knew the voice and he stopped dead in his tracks both from the surprise of hearing Mac's voice behind him and from the command in that voice. He had been so focused on the car and Cory's scream that he had not heard Mac pull up in his Jeep. The younger man had pulled up and jumped out of his car, running to get to his friend before something irrevocably bad happened.

"MacGyver," Thornton said warningly, but Mac ignored her, his eyes focused on the car and on Jack.

"Is she...," Mac started to ask Jack, his eyes never leaving the car.

Jack nodded and reached to put a hand on Mac's arm. "She's in the trunk. "She's OK Mac. We just need to open it and...," he never finished the sentence because Mac cut him off.

"No. It's a trap," Mac said quietly, but still loud enough for all to hear. "The car is wired. You open the trunk and it'll blow." A quick look over at Jack. "You'd better step away...just in case."

"Not happening, Mac," Jack said planting his considerable, solid bulk more firmly.

Mac just nodded, he knew Jack would not leave him and was already focused on the wires in the trunk. He walked around the car several time, tracing the wires and looking at them from all angles. It looked complicated and deadly, but, in reality, it was quite a simple bomb. This made Mac nervous and suspicious; he did not like it when things were too easy. But anyway he looked at it, he saw the same thing. It was a very rudimentary bomb. Finally, Mac nodded to himself, took out his Swiss Army knife and cut one wire. A breathless moment passed, and nothing happened. Mac took a slightly shaky breath. "Cory," he called. "Are you OK?"

"Mac?" The young woman's voice carried just an edge of hysteria, but, Jack noted with pride, she was holding herself together. An audible click followed as Cory released the child safety mechanism and the trunk flew open.

The next moment, Mac saw his sister sitting up and blinking in the bright light. "Cory!," he called as he and Jack both ran to the car and helped the young woman out. Mac wrapped his arms around Cory and held her close as she clung to him. He stroked her hair, whispering in her ear as Jack, Thornton, and Riley all stood back to give the two a moment or privacy.

Another moment and Cory, becoming self conscious, broke the embrace. Mac took her by the shoulders so that he could examine her more closely. He saw the bruising on her face. She winced as he reached out to touch it. She moved her head, "I'm OK." Mac looked her over, and realized that she was dressed only in pajamas and her feet were bare.

"Mac," Cory said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I am so sor...,"She never finished.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this just precious." Cory had never heard the voice before, but seeing the tension in Mac's body, she had a feeling she knew who it was. "See, MacGyver, I knew you would need a little extra encouragement to come meet me. And I was right." A pause. "Now, you and I are going to have a little fun...Follow the path."

Mac looked around and saw an aisle between several large mounds of discards and trash. "Now. MacGyver." The voice had now taken on a more commanding tone.

"He isn't going anywhere, you freak," Jack called out, looking all around for a target.

"Oh, quite on the contrary, I think he will," came the salt-assured voice.

"Jack," Mac whispered. His eyes on the little red dot that appeared on Jack's chest. There was another one on Thornton and one on Riley's throat. Mac looked at his three friends.

"No. Mac," Jack whispered. Just then a loud explosion echoed through the opening. Thortnon cried out and fell, clutching her shoulder.

"Remote controlled sniper rifles. Quite accurate. Unless you want a further demonstration, MacGyver, do as you are told."

Mac was still holding Cory's shoulders and now, with a grim look and compressed lips, he half pushed, half guided Cory to Jack. "Keep her safe, "he said quietly, his voice hoarse with unspoken emotions.

"No," Cory cried. "Mac, please no. Don't go." She struggled against Jack who held her in an embrace that simultaneously comforted her while still held her firm.

Mac walked carefully between the piles of trash. His eyes were alert for the assassin. An unexpected corner and Mac just about walked right into the business end of the rifle. "This has been such a pleasure," the man holding the gun said. "You have been the greatest challenge I have had in a very long time."

Mac looked at the other man. "You have me. Now let my friends go."

"Oh, you didn't read the fine print, did you?" The man smirked. "I will let them go not when you get here, but when you are dead." Mac did not realize that his pocket knife was in his hand, but he opened it and threw it at the tank behind the assassin. The tank was essentially empty, but in the heat, enough gas had built up to create a large cloud that obscured Mac's escape. The agent managed to grab his knife and run back into the mountains of trash.

Mac knew that he needed to find a way to free his friends. As he ran, he looked for materials. The guns may be very technologically advanced, but they were controlled by simple radio waves. Very quickly Mac found what he was looking for. Huddled behind a particularly large trash heap, he put his radio jammer together and aimed it at the guns.

"I'll be damned," Jack muttered. "The kid did it." All three laser targets were gone. When he looked toward the emplacement, he saw the guns pointed down and away from them. Jack looked over at Thornton who was leaning against the car, holding her bleeding shoulder. "Are you OK Patty?"

She hated being called that. "I'll live," was the terse reply. "Now go get that lunatic."

Cory was not going to be left behind. "Not without me." Jack looked at the young woman. Even after everything that she had been through, her eyes were bright and alert and her body tensed for action. "I can help," she said.

Jack nodded and knelt to get his spare gun from his ankle holster and handed it to Cory. "Be careful," he said, Cory nodded and ran off in the direction that she had seen her brother take.

Mac knew the guns has been silenced and that his friends and his sister would be able to leave safely. When he took a turn and again ran right into the assassin, he was at peace; he had done what he need to do. He did not want to die, but his family was safe and that's what was important.

He saw the man take aim. "You know Angus, this has been the most interesting assignment I have had in a long time. Thank you."

Mac played for time. "You know my name. What's yours."

That caused the other man to pause. "When you are in my profession, you acquire many names. I think out of all of them, my favorite name is Murdock."

Mac and Murdock locked eyes, neither man willing to look away.

"Put the gun down, you son of a bitch," Jack growled as he put his gun to the assassin's head.

"Oh very good, Jack, very good." Murdock almost chortled.

Jack took the gun and forced the man to his knees, fastening his wrists together with single-use handcuffs.

Cory had been running through the yard. Her feet ached; she knew that they must be cut and bleeding, but she didn't care. She needed to get to Mac. By the time she had reached the clearing, her gun ready, she saw that Jack had disarmed the other man. She was now able to look at him more closely. He was kneeling with his wrists bound together. She noticed that he was fiddling with something. At first Cory thought that it was nervous tick, but it was very methodical; this man did not strike her as somebody who wasted movement on being nervous.

She scanned the tops of the trash heaps and her eyes fell on Mac, standing a few feet back, observing the restrained assassin. Cory's heart skipped a beat when she saw the two red dots on her brother's chest.

I have a bad feeling about this. I hope you liked this chapter and I am sorry about another cliff hanger (well, only a little bit). Please let me know what you think and please leave a review as I love your thoughts and comments.


	7. Chapter 7

Cory did not really think about what she was doing; there was no time. At any moment the guns that were clearly trained on her brother would fire and he would be dead. There was no time to call out or consider options, she could not let Mac be hurt; especially since it was her fault he was there in the first place.

Without further thought, Cory ran directly at her brother, hoping to push him out of the way, her only thought was keeping him safe. As she ran, she called out a desperate warning to Mac.

Everything happened at once and, it seemed, in the blink of an eye. As Mac turned toward the sound of his sister's voice, Cory noticed that the targeting lasers disappeared from his chest. Relief rushed through her as she met her brother's eyes. It was his eyes, widening with horror, that was the last thing she clearly remembered as all her senses were overwhelmed by an all-consuming pain.

Mac heard the twin guns fire and saw Cory's body arch in agony as two bullets entered her back and tore through her body. "Cory," he heard somebody cry out in an anguished shout and realized that the sound was torn from his own throat as he ran toward his wounded sister.

Cory stumbled forward, propelled by her remaining momentum and the velocity of the bullets. Her legs were not working very well any longer, but she was still struggling to get to Mac – if she reached him, she knew, everything would be alright. She continued to stumble forward every step a painful effort.

Mac reached Cory in a matter of seconds, although the time had seemed to stretch into infinity. He caught her as her knees buckled, lowering her gently to the ground and dropping to his knees beside her. He could not help but see the front of her pajamas soaked in blood.

Jack's reaction was instantaneous, but it came too late. One moment he heard Cory call out and the next he saw the targeting lasers on Mac's chest. He immediately understood what was happening and grabbed Murdoc's wrists; but it was too late and could not prevent what happened next. He saw the bullets hit Cory and heard Mac call to her. He viciously clubbed the man on the side of the head, leaving him in an unconscious heap on the ground and ran toward his friend.

"Mac," he called desperately and was stopped in his tracks as his friend lifted stricken eyes. "Oh, God, Mac," Jack whispered and reached for his phone. "This is Dalton. Agents down. We need Medivac. Now!". Jack gave the location and hung up, kneeling next to Mac to see what help he could provide to his friend.

Mac had seen gunshot wound before; he had served in a war zone in the Army. But that was different. Those were soldiers. This was his little sister; somebody he had promised to always protect. He had failed her..he had failed…

"Jack," he whispered, sounding very young and very lost.

"Keep it together, buddy," Jack's voice was calm and quiet. He needed Mac to focus if there was any hope for Cory. "Help will be here in a few minutes...You've done this before. You know what to do. Tell me what you need from me, I'm here to help."

It took a moment for the words to cut through Mac's shock, but his scientific mind was starting to recover. Cory needed him and he needed to focus; he could help her. He quickly removed his jacket, using it to elevate Cory's head. Jack was looking around for clean, or at least semi clean cloth and when he couldn't find any took off his shirt, tearing it in half and used it to staunch the blood flow as best as he could. A slight movement caught Mac's attention and he looked at Cory's face realizing that her eyes were open and focused on him. It seemed to him that she was trying to say something.

"Hey," Mac soothed her, stroking her hair. "don't try to talk. It'll be OK. Help is on the way. I'm here. It'll be OK. If his voice was hoarse or cracked with emotion, nobody noticed.

Cory reached out a blood stained hand and Mac took it wishing that he could pass his strength to her through that connection. He continued speaking to her while Jack, did what he could to stop the bleeding. Thornton, helped by Riley, reached the seen, but stopped a few feet away so as not to interfere with what the men were doing.

Cory knew that she was badly hurt, although oddly the pain was no longer that intense; in its place overwhelming cold. Cold so intense that she began to shiver in the California afternoon. She was having trouble drawing a breath which made it hard to talk, but she had things that she needed to tell Mac. She needed to tell him not to worry – she hated when he worried…she wanted to promise him that she would be OK and to tell him that she was sorry for not listening to him. Unfortunately, she could not get enough air to form the words, and soon the world began to fade and grow dark at the edges. She tried to hold on to his hand, but found that she had no more strength left.

Mac saw Cory's eyes close. "Hey," he said urgently, cupping her face. "Hey Cory, open your eyes. Stay with me. Please stay with me." Mac continued to call to his sister, but his voice was soon drowned out by the rotors of the medivac helicopter.

Mac and Jack shielded Cory from the dirt being kicked up while the helicopter landed in the clearing. Three paramedics and several agents jumped out. Two headed toward Cory and one went to Thornton, but she waved him off indicating that he should go and assist the other two with Cory. The heavily armed agents carefully approached Murdoc who was just regaining consciousness, cuffed him and pulled him away toward a car that had just arrived.

The paramedics worked furiosly, getting an oxygen mask on Cory's face and inserting an IV. They worked to slow down the bleeding, but from Mac's perspective, it did not look like they were having much luck.

"She's bleeding out," the senior paramedic yelled. "We gotta get her out of here." o The other two paramedics lifted Cory's now limp body on to the waiting gurney. They wheeled it to the helicopter, locked the wheels and lifted it inside. Jack was helping Thornton into a waiting seat.

"See you at Cedars-Sinai," Jack told Mac as the younger man climbed in last, taking a place next to Cory. One of the paramedics was about to protest, but Jack put a hand on the man's shoulder and just shook his head; the look in his eyes discouraged any more debate.

Jack and Riley stood back as the helicopter lifted off. Jack put his arm around the young woman. "They'll be OK," he said and hoped he sounded like he meant it. He remembered the haunted look in Mac's eyes as Cory was loaded into the helicopter and realized that he was including his friend in the "they". "They will all be OK," he repeated again and prayed fervently that he was right.


	8. Chapter 8

nce the emergency helicopter had lifted off, Jack and Riley headed to the car. Jack saw something out of the corner of his eye and realized it was Mac's leather jacket. He knelt in to pick it up trying not to look too carefully at the ground around it...trying not to picture the young woman who had been lying there.

"Do you think Mac will really want that back," Riley asked, her face dubious. "After...," she stumbled for words, "...after what happened."

Jack looked at the jacket and saw the myriad of darkening stains. The jacket had a history and meant a lot to Mac, but no, he was not at all sure that Mac would ever even want to see it again. He tossed it in the back of the car as he got in and gunned the engine.

As the crow flies, it was only about fifteen or twenty minutes to get to Cedar's Sinai. For Mac, watching the paramedics fight to stabilize Cory, the time was interminable. He could hear the paramedics talking among themselves through his headset, but his focus was on Cory. He did not need to hear the conversation to know that things were bad; they were not able to slow down the blood loss and Mac understood enough about the monitoring equipment they were using to see that Cory's vital signs were fading fast.

He wanted to be with her and to hold her hand. Especially when he saw her body convulse with her ongoing struggle to breathe. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity and it tool Mac a minute to register what was happening. The senior paramedic had reached for the defibrillator and was applying the paddles to Cory's chest. Mac watched in horror as Cory's body convulsed with the electric shock being applied in an effort to restart her heart. "Please," he whispered to nobody in particular.

"I am sorry," Mac heard the voice through his head set and almost involuntarily turned his head toward Thornton. He had thought her unconscious, but she was looking at him, her eyes unreadable. "None of this was supposed to happen." Mac had nothing to say and no energy to spare on a shouted conversation, so he nodded almost imperceptibly and turned away.

A triumphant call followed the third administration of the paddles. "We got her." There was not time to celebrate of even for Mac to get closer. They were quickly descending toward the roof of the hospital. Mac looked out and saw a team waiting for them. Cory was quickly loaded on to another gurney and the trauma team set off at a run to get her to the OR. Mac ran with them not willing to let his sister out of his sight even for a moment.

His progress was stopped by the OR doors. He was ready to barrel through them and to follow his sister, but a nurse came out and gently, but firmly held Mac back explaining the doctors needed to do their work with no distractions. Mac wanted to argue, but the still-remaining rational part of this brain knew that the nurse was right. "We have the best doctors," the nurse said kindly, "they will do everything that they can."

"Everything that they can,"...that phrase continued to echo in Mac's mind as he stood in the hallway in front of the OR. People looked at him and moved on. Eventually, it occurred to him to wonder why everybody was staring at him. He looked down his shirt and at his hands and bile rose to his throat. Everything was covered in blood...her blood. Mac was not squeamish...he'd been in the army and saw had gotten used to seeing bloody and injured people. Hell, now that he worked with Jack, so injuries were a fairly common occurrence. But this was different. This was his sister.

Mac balled his hands into fists to hide the blood and to prevent them from shaking. Standing stock still, he took deep breaths trying to regain his composure; he was useless to Cory if he could not get it together. Mac rested his back against the wall which felt cool against his back and breathed; the noise of the hospital faded into an indistinct buzz.

That is how Riley and Jack found him.

Mac was so focused on breathing, staying upright and not visualizing Cory's bloody body behind his eyelids, that he did not notice the arrival of his friends until Jack put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mac?" The younger man's eyes opened as he jerked upright. Jack was about to ask if he was OK, but the look on his friends face indicated that this would be a very stupid question. Mac was definitely not OK. The man who was always analytical and logical was clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check; an understandable reaction for anyone, but made more difficult by Mac's usual tendency to internalize and compartmentalize – the problem was he was being swept away by an overwhelming tide of feelings that no amount of compartments could contain.

Jack noticed the momentary panic in his friend's eyes. "Hey," Jack said quietly. "Cory made it this far. They have the best doctors. If anybody can will pull her through, they can."

Mac chose not to comment on the fact that Jack just echoed what the nurse said and that he was having as much trouble believing Jack as he had the nurse...another look into his friend's eyes and Mac reconsidered. No - he actually believed Jack more; Mac clung to the hope that Jack had offered.

"MAC!" Bozer blew in. He immediately went to his best friend and the two briefly embraced. "I just heard, man," Bozer's voice was low. "Damn. I am so sorry. But she is getting the best care. She'll be OK." Mac just nodded. It did not occur to anybody at that time to wonder how Bozer managed to leave the Phoenix Foundation – the man could be very clever and persistent when he needed to be.

Mac, surrounded by his friends, sat down to wait as the minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness.

Four hours and an equal number of cups of coffee later, the doctor finally stepped out of the OR. The doctor immediately focused on Jack, since he was the largest presence in the room, but Mac stood up. "Doctor?" He said quietly.

"Are you Miss MacGyver's family?" When Mac nodded, the doctor went one. "I won't lie. It was tough. She lost a great deal of blood and her organs began to shut down. One bullet tore through her lung and the other one grazed her heart." He stopped as if needing to let this information sink in. "Its quite miraculous that she lived long enough to get to the OR." Jack watched his partner's face as different emotions from joy to fury to relief and then back again. "We have her intubated right now," the doctor continued, "to help her get enough oxygen while her lung tissue heals. We also have her heavily sedated. She will remain in the ICU for the next several days and we will reevaluate at that time."

"When will she wake up, Doc," Jack asked.

"We will start cutting back on the medication in about five days. She will slowly wake up over the next several days after that."

"And she'll be OK?," Mac managed to ask.

"We hope so." At the surprised look, the doctor explained. Miss MacGyver suffered a great deal of trauma and is in deep shock. The fact that she is young, strong, and otherwise healthy, is promising, but we cannot be certain what type of impact her injuries would have on her ability to recover until she, in fact, recovers." Mac nodded again, is mouth working silently as he coped with the information.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor smiled gently at the clearly distraught young man and nodded. "Yes for immediate family. A nurse will be here shortly and escort you."

"Thank you, doctor," Mac said.

About ten minutes later a nurse came in and took Mac to the ICU. Entering the room filled with hissing, buzzing, beeping equipment, Mac took a deep breath, He had a moment of irrational panic when he could not find Cory. Then he saw her amidst the wires and leads and surrounded by machines. "Cory," Mac breathed. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." He pulled up a chair and took the small, fragile seeming hand in his. He sat there, holding Cory's hand, lost in thought. The longer he thought, the more certain things became clear.

The rest of the team was outside waiting for Mac and in about an hour he came back. The change in him was palpable and Jack's heart skipped a beat. Mac's eyes were downcast and his mouth compressed into a line. His face was haggard and stark.

"Do you need anything, Buddy," Bozer asked with forced joviality, but Mac shook his head.

"No. Thanks. I'm good."

"OK, then," Jack said, also trying to elicit some type of reaction from his partner. "I'm assuming you're staying the night." Mac just nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then. I'll come by with a change of clothes and we'll drive to Phoenix. You'll need to debrief with...," Jack never had the chance to finish his thought.

"No," Mac said.

"What do you mean no," Jack was genuinely confused.

Mac's voice was exhausted and emotionless. "I'm not going back to Phoenix. Not tomorrow. Not ever...," Another pause as Mac took a deep, shuddering breath, "I'm resigning."


	9. Chapter 9

Mac's announcement triggered the type of outcry that he was desperately trying to avoid. He was too tired, too worried about Cory and just generally too drained to try to explain to his friends. He barely even had the energy to lift his head or speak. Standing in the small, close waiting room, he just looked at the three people who were waiting for him.

"Resign...that's a good one," Jack laughed. "Glad to see that you still have your sense of humor."

"I'm not joking, Jack," Mac's voice was flat.

"Dude, you can't," Bozer protested. "Who's going to show me around now that I am the newest Phoenix recruit?" Mac ignored his friend and focused on Riley.

"Aren't you going to comment too?" He bit out harshly. The strength of his anger palpable as a physical force.

Riley actually stepped back from Mac, hurt plainly visible in her dark eyes as if he had struck her.

"Mac," it was Bozer, "Take it easy. We just want to help."

"Help me?," Mac's voice took on a bitter tone with an edge of hysteria. "Really?...how do you suppose you'll do that? Can you help Cory?" Mac's gaze raked his three friends as he pointed vaguely in the direction from which he had come. "I don't need help. She's the one that's in the ICU... with the tube in her throat and attached to machines. Can you...any of you...help her? Can you make her well or even just keep her from ..." Mac stopped and took a breath that sounded like a sob, "...from dying?"

Mac stopped again and visibly fought to gain control. He looked around again, "I guess nobody can help, then." He turned his back and started walking away.

"Mac!" The one word rang out like a gunshot in the enclosed space and the younger agent froze in his tracks. He turned to look at the larger man who had called out his name. .

Jack had been quiet the entire time, watching his friend's distress escalate and spin out of control. Now he approached Mac almost like he would a scared, cornered animal.

Mac's grief was entirely understandable; Jack had seen it too many times with military families when he had to inform them of the death of their loved one. Mac's reaction was the same. As he approached, Mac took a step back, his eyes still focused on the older agent. Jack closed his eyes for a moment, pushing back the painful memories of wives, girlfriends and mothers, begging him to change what he was telling them. Baking away from him as if he himself was the bringer of death.

"Mac," Jack said quietly. "I do know how you feel. I've been where you are. Watching somebody you love in pain...not knowing if they would be OK...if they would even live." Mac wanted to argue, but if anybody could claim they understood, it was Jack. Mac stopped backing up. Jack continued. "You are so angry and scared and sad...and there is no place to put that stuff. You just keep it inside until at some point, you can't anymore." Jack reached out a hand and Mac did not flinch when his partner cupped the back of his neck, pulling gently.

Jack tried to pull Mac in, but to his surprise, Mac resisted. Even after all this time as partners, Jack would sometimes forgot how strong Mac actually was. It was a reminder to Jack that Mac was an adult; an agent in his own right =, even though at the moment there was something of the frightened, lost little boy in his demeanor as he was fighting so hard to control a situation that was completely beyond his control. Suddenly it was as if something snapped, "Oh God, Jack..." Mac's voice was an anguished whisper, "...what if she doesn't make it... what if I lose her...I can't...I...I...," Mac's voice failed him entirely, but, at least he stopped resisting. Jack pulled the younger man to him, putting his arms around Mac, holding him while the younger man's shoulders heaved with silent sobs.

"Take it easy, Brother," Jack whispered. "Easy...itll be OK." Whereas, a lesser man would be embarrassed, Jack continued to hold Mac. "We're all here, buddy. All here for you. It'll be OK. It'll be OK."

Eventually, Mac's shuddering ceased. In another moment, he tried to pull away and this time Jack let him, taking a step back to give the other man his personal space back.

Mac took a deep breath, he ran his hand through his already disheveled blond hair. One look took in all three of the people...his family. "I am so sorry," he said, His voice barely above a whisper. "I...I.."

Riley walked up and put her arms around Mac, silencing him. "Its OK," she said. "Friends don't ever need to apologize." Mac clung to her for another minute.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear, as he pulled away.

"Now," Jack said in his usual, half-amused drawl. "About that resignation.

Mac became serious again. "I meant that," he said. When he saw the questioning eyes. "Cory is in the ICU because somebody wanted to kill me. They wanted to kill me because I am an agent. She would not have been...," he paused and swallowed, "...she would not have been hurt if not for me. Its my fault." A calming breath. "Lets be real here. Thornton thought I was emotionally compromised when I found out about Nikki...now...Thornton wouldn't let me anywhere near Phoenix" The room grew quiet and that silence stretched as Riley and Bozer searched for something to contradict Mac and Mac searched their faces hoping to find a reason he could stay.

Jack was thinking. His brow furrowed. His CIA training was kicking in and something seemed wrong about the entire scenario. People often underestimated Jack. They saw a large, slow speaking man who liked to solve problems with his fists and his gun. But behind that facade was an intellect that kept him alive during his tours with Delta Force and then made him a top notch CIA agent. He finally managed to catch the idea that has been swimming tantalizingly in front of him. "Son of a Bitch," Jack's exclamation made everybody jump. "How did we miss this?"

"Jack?" Mac looked at his partner. "What are you talking about?" Jack noticed with relief that Mac's eyes were alive again and his naturally ingrained curiosity was providing him new energy.

"What if we've been looking at this all wrong," Jack asked. "We thought somebody wanted to kill Mac."

"Well yes," Riley quipped. "Sending the assassin is a pretty good clue."

Mac was silent. Thinking. "He didn't shoot me when he could. He hesitated. I thought that I was distracting him and buying time, but he would not have shot me." Mac closed his eyes. He did not want to remember that moment. The moment he saw Cory shot. "The bullets that hit Cory...," Mac looked at Jack who seemed to be tracking because he began to nod almost immediately.

"Cory is what, six inches shorter than you, Mac?" Mac nodded standing up and looking in the mirror.

"Those bullets would have hit me somewhere in the midsection. Painful...yes, but given how quickly help was available, not fatal."

"So, somebody wanted to mess with your head by," Bozer paused. He hated to use the words that came to his mind. "By killing your sister?"

Mac's face was bleak as he nodded. "I am a complete wreck and she is still alive. If they had succeeded in...in...," Mac again swallowed hard and his voice started to shake, "...if they had been able to kill Cory...," Mac took a breath and Jack put a steadying hand on his shoulder, "if they had been successful, I would be completely unable to function."

The team may have doubted the truth of that statement – had that awful eventuality occurred, they all knew that Mac would have pursued the killers to the ends of the earth with the inhuman focus that he was capable of. But, his point was well taken.

"What kind of sick, twisted bastard thinks like this," Bozer asked, his own anger flaring.

"I don't know," Mac said simply as he took out his cell phone, talk of resignation at least temporarily forgotten, "But I think I know where I can start looking."


	10. Chapter 10

"Mac. What are you going to do? Who are you...," Jact started. One glance from Mac and he knew the answer. "Ah, man...no. Not Nikki. Every time she shows up, bad things happen."

Mac sighed. "Jack...at this point, bad things already happened," a glance toward the ICU. "I need answers and we both know that if anybody has them, she will.

"I don't like it man," Jack muttered to nobody in particular. "I don't like it."

Mac focused on typing for a few moments and waited. His phone pinged within five minutes. Mac read the screen, eyes bleak and his lips pressed into a flat line. He nodded ever so slightly.

"You going to share with the rest of the class?" Jack prodded.

"She'll be here in an hour. It'll be just her and me." When Mac saw the doubt in in his partner's eyes, he spoke more emphatically. "Just me and her Jack. Please."

Jack wanted to argue, but the steel in Mac's voice was back, so he nodded. "Just be careful, Brother," he said.

Mac really hated hospital coffee; he'd had enough of it over the last 12 hours and now he was nursing yet another cup as he sat in a secluded corner of the hospital cafeteria. He was just taking a sip of the lukewarm liquid when a familiar figure slipped into the booth across from him. Mac heard the familiar sound of a safety on a gun being released.

"You know you don't need that, Nikki," he said wearily. His heart ached as he looked at the familiar face, but the jarring recollection of why he was sitting in the hospital cafeteria in the first place, brought him back to reality and hardened his heart.

"I beg to differ," was the sharp reply. "I know you. You have something planned."

The two looked at each other for a minute. Nikki blinked first. "Mac," she said softly. "I...I …," she stopped and took a breath. "I heard about...," Nikki paused, swallowing hard, " "And, I am so sorry about Co..".

"Don't you dare even say her name," Mac growled, his blue eyes hard as ice. "Your...people," Mac spat out the word, "are the reason that Cory...that she," Mac stumbled over the words, stopped, took a breath, "...that she is in the ICU."

"Mac," Nikki tired again," I know what you think and what you think you know, but he people I work for, didn't do this."

"Really," Mac spat the word out. "Who else wants me dead?" Nikki drew back from Mac; she's never seen him like this; the cold, hard anger was something she had never experienced and it terrified her. Nikki looked almost desperate as her eyes scanned the almost empty room.

"If I knew, I'd tell you. I swear it, Mac." she tried again. "Mac, please," she whispered.

With a visible effort, Mac sat back and forced himself to relax.

"Talk." Just one word. One order said in a quiet, dangerous tone, and Nikki complied.

"Look," she said quietly. "The people for whom I work – they are totally capable of ordering a hit on you or anybody else. Thing is, at this point, they gain nothing by killing you and if there is no upside for them," Nikki looked directly at Mac, "...if there is no upside, they will not waste the resources." You are an annoyance to them, "she quirked an eyebrow at Mac who was clearly annoyed at the characterization, "...neither you nor Cory pose any danger to them right now. So they would not go through the trouble of hiring an assassin. Nikki stopped, and took a moment,"Its just not how they operate."

"C'mon, Mac," Nikki's tone changed again from almost pleading to cynical and goading. "Use that big brain of yours. Ask yourself who benefits if you are killed or at least incapacitated?" Nikki's eyes bore into Mac's. "It's not me...its not my organization...," Mac was staring at Nikki.

"What are you saying?", he whispered.

Nikki reached out a hand, and rested it on Mac's hand that had just released his coffee mug. A moment later, Mac pulled his hand away and pocketed a small key.

"There are people, Mac...," Nikki whispered, "...people close to you and very high up...They are not interested in you or in your sister, but they will destroy anybody who gets in their way." Her eyes darted to the pocket with the key. "Hang on to that. You'll need it soon and then remember what I told you."

Nikki started to get up, but then froze for a moment as if in thought. She briefly closed her eyes and then sat back down, leaning

Nikki leaned in closer, "Project Ocelot."

"Ocelot?" Mac did not think he had heard correctly, but Nikki nodded. "What the helll is that?"

"I don't know, but if you find out, you might also find out who wants you and Cory dead."

Again Mac looked intently at the woman he had once loved...at the woman he still desperately wanted to love, but then his heart and his eyes hardened again. "You tell a good story, but then that was always your strong suit, wasn't it?" The tone was cold and biting. He knew that she had been lying to him about...about everything. Why would this be any different? He did not want to believe her. He wanted to deny everything, but something in his gut told him that maybe...just maybe, there was a kernel of truth. "He tapped something onto his phone and pushed it across the table. "Do you recognize this?"

"You know I do," Nikki whispered.

"Stay away from me. Stay away from my family," Mac grated out.

"Mac," Nikki whispered. "This is not like always gave people a chance."

"People change," he replied coldly. "You always said everybody has a dark side. Trust me, you don't want to see mine." With that Mac slid out of the seat and started walking away when Nikki caught his hand.

"Remember...Project Ocelot." Mac looked down into eyes that really did seem to be pleading with him, but he did not dare soften...he'd been down this path before. And yet...yet...something tickled the back of his mind. "Please believe me," she whispered, "and please...please... be careful." Without another look backward, Mac extricated his hand and walked away, leaving Nikki to stare at this retreating back.


	11. Chapter 11

Mac stalked down the hospital corridor, away from the cafeteria. His brain was still roiling with rage and tension that kept his hands clenched into fists and his stomach tied up in knots so tight that it felt like he could not take a deep breath. Nikki was lying. She had to be lying. That is what she did...always. The thoughts, like a mantra were running through Mac's head.

Nikki was responsible for what happened to Cory, of that Mac was certain. She had Cory's blood on her hands, sure as if she had pulled the trigger herself. Who else would have hired the hitman? Who else hated him enough to hurt him this badly? Mac tried to breathe and calm his thoughts; to try and make some sense out of everything that had been happening over the last two days. As he finally felt more calm, he sensed that there was a very small, quiet voice was nudging at the back of his brain. "What if," it said. What if what Nikki said was even partially true? What if somebody else was after him and Cory? "What was this conspiracy to which Nikki had alluded," the voice wondered. What was Project Ocelot and what did it have to do with his sister? There were so many questions and no answers to any of them. Mac hissed in frustration and shook his head, trying to clear it. He needed to talk to Jack, Riley and Bozer.

Mac found himself back in ICU and in front of Cory's room; subconsciously, his feet had carried him back to his sister. He decided that he would check on her before heading back to his team. He opened the door and froze.

"What the hell?" The question was out of his mouth before he had a chance to think. A nurse…at least he had initially thought it was a nurse, was injecting something into Cory's IV. He heard Mac, tuned around, his task completed. Mac was momentarily torn between stopping the intruder and rushing to ensure that Cory was safe. Making up his mind within a few seconds, Mac rushed to his sister's bedside permitting the man to escape through the open door and into the busy hospital. Mac turned off the IV. He checked Cory pulse and breathed a sign of relief when he saw that she was no worse than she was when he had left her.

Knowing it was futile, Mac still ran to the door and into the hallway, hoping against hope to see the man who had been in the room; the intruder was long gone. He stopped by the nurse's station to tell them what had happened and the nurses hurried to replace the medication and insure that their charge was well. Mac watched for a few more minutes to make sure that Cory was alright, he took a moment to gently squeeze her hand and brush the hair off her forehead. "I'll be back soon, I promise" he whispered and walked out to join the team.

Jack, Riley and Bozer were still in the waiting room. It had seemed to Mac that days had passed, but he knew that it had barely been two hours since he left the team to meet with Nikki. As concisely as he could, Mac recounted his meeting with Nikki, ending with his encounter in Cory's room.

"Son of a bitch," Jack swore after Mac had briefed them.

"Whatever is going on, she's not safe here, Jack," Mac said. "I'm beginning to think that she's not going to be safe anywhere." Mac's lips were pressed together in frustration and he paced around the small waiting room.

"I got an idea," Jack said reaching for his phone. He dialed and spoke quickly. "Perkins? It's Dalton. Yeah, Buddy. Good to hear your voice too. I got a favor ask. I need security. 24/7 for the next…," he paused. "Truth is, I don't know for how long." He listened for a minute. "Perk…its for MacGyver," he said quietly. Another minute passed. "Thanks man. I really appreciate it and I know that Mac will too." At the questioning look from Mac, he smiled slightly. "Remember Bill Perkins? Mac nodded. Him, Rick Alden, and John Staedler, started a private security firm after then retired from Delta. They are the best in the business and they and their team will guard Cory 24/7 until we resolve this." Jack saw Mac about to protest and became serious, his eyes boring into those of the younger man. "They haven't forgotten what you did for them in Afghanistan and neither have I. They owe you Mac. They got your back on this one. Cory couldn't be in safer hands." Mac nodded. He was more grateful than he could say.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"OK," Jack said, uncomfortable with the emotion he saw in his friend's eyes, "what's next."

Mac took a deep breath, trying to focus his thoughts. "Nikki said that it wasn't her or her people that did this. She said that…," Mac took a breath, "….that there were people close to me…to us…in positions of power and influence. Nikki said they don't want to be interfered with." He blew out a breath in frustration, the rage coming back. "I don't understand it..any of it"

Bozer was nodding. "So if they acted, then something that you are doing is going to affect them. The question is what that it is. What could be so important that they would hire an assasin?" The question hung in the air since nobody had an answer.

Riley spoke up, "I know that this isn't going to be popular question," she looked apologetically at Mac, "but why does it have to be something that Mac is doing?" When she was met with questioning stares, she took a breath and continued, "Is it possible that it was something Cory was doing with the CIA, that got their attention?"

Mac was nodding. Riley was making sense although he really hated where those thoughts were leading him. "Nikki also mentioned one other thing", he said, looking around. "Something that she called 'Project Ocelot'. She said that if we figure out what that is, we'll have answers." He had stopped pacing and was looking at all three of his friends. "Please," he whispered. "I need your help. I need you. All of you," as he scanned all three faces.

Jack took it upon himself to speak for the others although he could tell by the looks on their faces he was echoing their thoughts. "Whatever you need Mac. We're here." Jack looked at Bozer and Riley who both nodded back. "We'll go back to Phoenix…"

"No!" Mac was not sure where that came from, but he was suddenly certain that Pheonix was the last place that he wanted to be right now. Something in what Nikki had said must have resonated with him, he thought resentfully; he hated that anything that he would give credence to anything that Nikki had said, but he was determined to not involve The Foundation. This would be between him and his friends only. Somehow that realization made Mac feel slightly better.


	12. Chapter 12

Mac tried to sit still and wait for the security detail to arrive, but found that all he could do was continue to pace. He knew that he needed to focus; knew that he needed to push his emotions aside and concentrate on the problem. Unfortunately, he was too tired, too worried and too angry.

Jack watched his young partner with mounting concern. He understood only too well, how Mac was feeling. With his sister in critical condition and apparently under continued threat and with the lies that Nikki had told him...Jack was sure they were lies...still rattling around in his brain, his friend was having a hard time bringing his laser focus to bear. "Guess what, Jack," Jack told himself, "Mac is human too...who'da thunk?" Shaking his head to clear it, he stood up and went to Mac. Mac was so deep in his own world, that he almost ran into Jack. "Whoa," Jack said as he put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "This is not helping anybody. We need you and your big brain in peak condition and as you are now, you are no good to us or...," Jack hesitated, hating what he was about to say,"...or to Cory." Mac looked as if he had just been slapped and Jack felt a stab of guild along with a sense of satisfaction. Good. At least he had gotten Mac's attention.

More gently now, and still not releasing Mac's shoulders, Jack continued to speak. "You are emotional, you are exhausted...when did you last sleep?" Mac shrugged. "When did you eat last?" Again Mac shrugged. He knew that it must have been over twenty four hours. That realization made him realize that he was hungry." A small, sheepish smile crossed his face.

"Now that you mention it, Jack...I am hungry and," he looked around, "I think you all must be too." There were emphatic nods all around.

_The meal at the hospital cafeteria was companionable, but quiet. It seemed strange to Mac to be back there again and he could not help, but to keep looking around for Nikki. Jack and Bozer tried to engage Mac in conversation, but quickly gave up; Mac sat at the table, mechanically eating the burger he had ordered, still deep in thought. Jack kept a close eye on his friend, looking for any signs that he should be concerned about.

Twenty minutes later, Jack's cell phone buzzed. He looked down, "They're here," he announced. The team stood up from the table.

"Can you give me a few minutes," Mac asked. "I just want to check...,"

"Yeah, sure, Buddy," Jack said. "Do what you need to do."

Mac stopped off in the ICU and checked in with the doctor. Cory was doing as well as could be expected and there did not appear to be any effects from the tainted IV. The drugs were sent to the lab, but it would take time to identify what had been injected into the IV bag.

Mac wanted to spend time with Cory, but the nurses were in the room changing bandages and cleaning her. Mac stood for a moment in the doorway and turned to head toward the waiting room.

_Mac saw Jack in deep conversation with two other men that could have been his brothers. Jack recognized the two men from his time with Jack's Delta Force team in Afghanistan; the dark haired man was Bill Perkins and the grizzled blond was John Staedler. All three men turned to look at Mac.

The memories flooded back rocking Mac on his heels. All at once he was back in the desert, he felt the stultifying heat, heard the rattle of automatic gunfire. Saw the patrol pinned down by enemy gunfire, unable to move because they had stepped into the middle of a minefield. Mac knew what needed to be done. Making himself as small a target as possible, he crawled toward the men...

"Mac," the voice pulled Mac from his reverie and he looked up into Bill Perkins's eyes. "Its good to see you again, Mac," the man said, his voice suprisingly soft coming from such a large man. "Its been a long time." He extended his hand.

"Yes, it has been," Mac said taking the hand and shaking it. A moment passed and Perkins pulled Mac into an embrace that Mac returned; they were tied by blood, they were brothers, connected by history and memories few could understand.

"Hey man," Staedler approached and he and Mac embraced as well. "Jack just finished briefing us...I...we...are real sorry about...what's happened" Mac nodded. "Triad Security - Bill and I and our team, will make sure that she is safe. 24/7...as long as you need."

"Thank you," Mac said, "Just let me know how much..."

"Hold up, Mac," Perkins interrupted. "There is no charge for this. We owe you, man,….more than we can ever repay. If we can help you and...and...Cory, in any way, it's the least we can do...it could never be enough, but its something."

Mac was stunned and moved by the words. "You owe me nothing," he said quietly. A brief pause and a deep breath, Mac's voice shook every so slightly as he simply said, "Thank you."

The moment passed and the men became business like. "How about you brief us and take us back to see the location so that we can put the right security in place.

In the end, the plan was simple; somebody would be with Cory in the room at all times. When the nurses and doctors came in, they would wait by the door to allow her privacy. The security team would be armed both with a gun as well as something like a baton in case the oxygen was on in the room and the risk of an explosion was too high. "Simple but effective," Jack said approvingly.

With Perkins, who volunteered to take the first watch, waiting discreetly outside, Mac sat with Cory. Jack looked through the windows and his heart lurched as he saw the lines of exhaustion and distress on his friends face. "Whatever it takes, Brother," he swore. "Whatever it takes...we'll get to the bottom of this."

Mac did not want to leave Cory. Not even with the substantial bulk of Bill Perkins standing guard, but Jack and Bozer persuaded him. More to the point, Mac had to admit to himself that he was willing to be persuaded and the idea of a hot shower and a few hours of sleep in his own bed overwhelmingly appealing. He forced himself to walk to the car and to stay awake through the drive to his house.

Once home, Mac went directly to the shower. Stepping in and turning the water as hot as it would go, he stood under the stream until the water started to cool off. Slipping into sweats, Mac stumbled into his bedroom and literally collapsed into bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

The house quieted and the lights went out within an hour of the team being home. Bozer was asleep on the couch in the living room as he had sent Riley to sleep in his bedroom. One light remained on in the living room as Jack, pot of coffee on the table by his side, kept vigil over his partner and his friends.

_Mac woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. Mac lay still for a few minutes savoring the familiar smells. That is until the memories of the day before came crashing down. Stifling a grown, Mac sat up in bed; he was going to have to face the day. He washed and dressed quickly and walked out into the living room where the rest of the team was already waiting.

"Hey Mac," Bozer said, bringing his friend a mug of coffee. "How are you feeling?"

Mac took stock, "Better – I think...," a pause. "What time is it."

"It is ten am," Jack booked as he walked in, pocketing his phone. "I just checked in with Staedler who has been at the hospital with Cory since six am. At the inquiring look from Mac, Jack reassured his friend, "She's safe. Everything was quiet since we left last night. You can call for an update on Cory, but Staedler wanted me to tell you that everything is OK."

Feeling more awake as the caffeine hit his system, Mac nodded.

"What's the plan," Riley asked as she finished her eggs. "What are we telling...or more importantly...not telling Thornton."

"Hmm...," was Jack's contribution to the discussion as Mac reached for more coffee willing the dark, sweet liquid to provide answers." The doorbell interrupted his ruminations.

Jack signaled Mac to get the door while he stood behind it with his gun drawn, not willing to take any chances. Mac opened the door and smiled, "Sarah," he said.

"Hi Mac," the CIA agent replied softly. "We need to talk."


	13. Chapter 13

Mac stepped back to let Sarah Adler into the house.  
"I guess congratulations are in order," Jack said sourly.  
"I did send you an invitation," Sarah replied. "The least you could have done is replied one way or the other." Jack had the good grace to look sheepish.  
"Well....you know...with one thing and another...," he equivocated, but Sarah looked to be done with this line of conversation.   
She took a deep breath. "You've had contact with Nikki Carpenter," she said without preamble. "I need to know why."  
Mac knew that he should not have been surprised by the question, after all, Nikki was a wanted fugitive. He opened his mouth, but Jack stepped in.  
"Do we now have inter-agency cooperation," he asked sarcastically. "I was not aware that we were sharing information," he paused meaningfully, "but then again, I supposed not sharing information is what you do really well."  
"Jack," Sarah started to say, but then shut her mouth, her lips pressed together into a thin line as she tried to hold on to her emotions. "Look. I need your help. I know Nikki contacted you. I believe that she has information that may be critical to a case that I am working on." Another deep breath as she looked around. "It may very well be a matter of life and death."  
"OK," Jack softened slightly, "Tell us. Whose life and death?"  
"An agent," Sarah said simply.  
"What's his name," Mac asked.  
"I have no idea," Sara said, frustration evident in her voice. "It’s a top secret project and to maintain operational security we're siloed. I do not know the names of the other agents. Just their code names."  
"Tell us what you do know," Jack said  
"Her code name is 'Spinner'," Sarah continued. "She's my profiler on this project and I think she's missing."  
"Why do you think she's missing," Jack asked, trying to sound casual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mac go several shades paler.  
Sarah missed the interaction and continued, "I've no idea who she is or where she is stationed, but she was due to log in yesterday at 7 am. She had not logged in and has gone totally silent. I have not been able to reach her at all." She took a deep breath. "This project is serious and has....," she searched for a word,"...implications. I'm really worried that something has happened to her."  
"Something may have happened to her," Mac said quietly. For the first time, the CIA agent noticed how haggard the younger agent looked; his face pale and his eyes red rimmed. She noticed new lines of exhaustion and tension around his eyes and mouth. Something really hit Mac hard, she realized.  
"Mac," she said, tentatively. "Are you OK."  
Jack was about to reply for his friend, but this time Bozer spoke up.  
Looking from Sarah to Jack to Mac. "I think that its time we put all the cards on table," he said somberly. "We can't solve this until we have the whole story."   
"You first," Sarah said. Jack was about to argue, but Mac sat down heavily on the couch and started talking.  
"My younger sister, Cory, is a profiler at the CIA. Yesterday morning, she was kidnapped by an assassin that we believe was hired to kill me." Mac stopped for a moment and then continued. "We found her, but she....she," he stopped and tried to regain control of his voice. Sarah noticed the pain in his eyes. "She was shot trying to protect me," Mac finally ground out, his voice peculiarly flat. "She is currently as Cedars-Sinai in a medically induced coma. " Mac stopped talking.  
"Oh my God, Mac," Sarah whispered. "I am so sorry." Mac nodded, his eyes hollow.  
Jack put a hand on his partner's shoulder and went on.  
"Mac called Nikkin because we think she had something to do with hiring the assassin. She denied it up one side and down the other, but I think she's full of sh..."  
Mac interrupted the profanity, "Nikki swore that it was not her and she said that it was somebody close to us...somebody powerful."  
"What do you know about Project Ocelot?" Jack asked, cutting to the chase.   
The question caught Sarah by surprise. She paled and then felt color creeping up her face. "The truth, Sarah," Jack growled. "Or all bets are off."  
Sarah sighed, but squared her shoulders and began. "For the last eighteen months, we have been aware of a group... we're calling it 'The Organization'. As far as we can tell, they are very powerful people within the US government and intelligence communities. The China hack...the Iranian Cyber worm, the Myanmar unrest... are just some of the activities that we have been able to trace back to them."  
"What's their end game?" Jack asked, every inch the intelligence agent.  
"That's one of the questions that 'Spinner' was working on. We knew that these activities were just test runs and that they would be leading up to something much bigger. Her job was to take what information we had on both individuals and on the organization as a whole and figure out what they were plan."  
"You are having her create a profile of the entire organization," Mac said.  
Sarah nodded. "This is work that’s beyond what most profilers can do, but 'Spinner'...she really had a feel for this. She'd been working on it for a while and she told me that she felt she was getting closer. " Mac and the team listened attentively...more and more Mac was feeling like Cory had to be Spinner. Sarah continued, "It was not part of her specific assignment but on the side, I know that she was also trying to develop profiles of the top echelon – of the leadership of The Organization." Sarah took a breath and continued. “If her work proved out, Spinner would be able to identify the true motivations of The Organization as well as predict what they were likely to do.”  
“So how does Psycho Bitch fit into all this,” Jack asked. Sarah noticed that Mac flinched a little at the question  
“We think that she’s been recruited by The Organization,” Sarah said. “We believe that she has information that may be useful to us in identifying the key players. She’s reached out to The Agency. She may be ready to come in. She may be ready to talk.”  
“So what do you need us for?” Mac asked.  
Sarah straightened her shoulders. “We believe the current target of The Organization is The Phoenix Foundation, so out of professional courtesy,” Jack interrupted her with a bark of laughter and was met with a dirty look. Sarah continued,”….out of professional courtesy, I would let you know what we knew and ask you to back me up on the mission.” Sarah looked around into four sets of eyes that looked at her with something between incredulity and open hostility.


	14. Chapter 14

"Well now," Jack said, a small malicious grin on his face, "now that you've told us, you can move on. We've got it from here."

"Not on your life," Sarah shot back. "I know that you're a Neanderthal, but you don't get to muscle in on my case. You can either back me up, it I will just go my own way and let you know when the case is resolved."

"And you've been so successful so far," Jack mocked. "You came here because you know you can't do it without us."

"Enough!" The word was more of a bark than an exclamation. Everybody looked around and located the speaker. MacGyver was on his feet, his face paler than before, lips pressed into a thin line and fists clenched as he tried to regain control.

"Brother," Jack started.

"No," Mac cut him off. "Not now. The only thing that's important now is to solve this. To find Nikki and to find out what she knows about this 'Organization'." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Somehow...some way, what happened to Cory is tied to The Organization. I am going to find out how and when I find who ordered Murdock to kill her..." Words failed him, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes.

"Mac," Jack said, reaching for his friend, but Mac shook him off.

"I'm OK," he said, not convincing anybody. "But I'll be better, when the Son of a Bitch responsible, is...is," Mac forced himself to regain control, "..when he...," another pause, "….or she...is put out of commission."

The team exchanged looks with each other and with Sarah; with no additional words, the decision had been made.

"Ok," Jack said. "What's the plan?"

Sarah, replied. "We are waiting to determine on where Nikki will be. We will intercept her there and take her in. Its just a matter of time; she'll soon. In the mean time, we are monitoring all known communications channels."

"And..," Mac promted.

"And…so far..nothing," Sarah was forced to admit.

"Then what…," Jack started to speak but was interrupted by the sound of the cell phone. Mac grabbed for it. Somehow, but the look on his face, the team knew that it was the hospital.

"This is MacGyver," he said. He listened to the speaker, nodded once…twice. "I understand," he said. "I will get there as soon as I can," he said.

"Mac?" Jack asked.

"I need to go to the hospital now," he said.

"What…," Bozer started to ask, fear and concern for his friend in his eyes and in his voice.

Mac permited himself a small, sad, tired smile. "It's a little good news for a change," he said. "They are taking the breathing tube out earlier than planned."

Mac and Jack drove the hospital. It was decided that Sarah would meet them there. Riley and Bozer would head off to Cory's apartment. Perhaps if they could find her laptop, Riley would be able to access it and maybe, if they were very lucky, it would point to who had wanted Cory out of the way.

The car had barely stopped before Mac had opened the door and dashed in. He practically ran by the nurses' station and into Cory's room. Staedler was on guard and he nodded at Mac. Jack was right behind his younger partner, and saw Mac's shoulders slump when he saw no changes in his sister.

"How is she?" Mac asked the doctor who had entered right behind the agents.

"Your sister is very strong," the doctor said. "I think that there is cause for optimism. I had not thought she would be ready to have the breathing tube removed so soon, but she is ready. I will do it now, if you would like to wait outside."

Mac had taken Cory's hand. "I was an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician in the Army. I served in Afghanistan. I think I can handle what you are about to do." Mac's blue eyes were hard and clear as he looked at the doctor. He never raised his voice and his inflection was unfailingly polite, but the doctor could not miss the steel behind the words. He nodded.

Jack and Staedler stood just outside. They could not see Cory and were gauging what was happening based on Mac's body language.

Mac watched as the doctor donned gloves. He continued to hold Cory's hand as the doctor reached for the breathing tube. He waited until he felt Cory exhale and pulled hard. Mac felt Cory's whole body tense. The tube came out and he heard her choke. He felt her body tense up as her lungs fought for oxygen. "Please, Cory," he begger her silently. "Please, breathe."

Suddenly, he heard her gasp. A huge breath alsmost like sob. Another one and then another one. She was breathing on her own. Mac had not realized it, but he too had been holding his breath. He let it out quietly and felt like his own heart started to beat again.

Jack too let out his breath in a loud "whoosh," when he saw Mac's shoulders relax.

The doctor, continued to check Cory's vital signs and when he was satisfied, placed an oxygen canula in her nose. Cory was breathing quietly and seemed to be at ease. "I've lowered her pain medication," the doctor spoke to Mac. "I want to ween her as quickly as possible and the less medication, the less chance there is that her breathing is compromised." Mac nodded, but did not seem to to understand the implication. The older man smiled. "She may be able to hear you now," he said gently. He rested a hand on Mac's shouldler momentarily and stepped out. Jack and Stedler remained outside to give Mac a moment of privacy.

Mac studied Cory. She was till pale, her dark eyelashes brushing her cheeks. He had heard what the doctor said, but search as he might, he saw no difference. "Cory," he whispered. "Cory," he said a little louder. "If you can hear me, I want you to know, that I will find who's responsible for this." He waited. He knew what he wanted to say; the words were reverberating inside his head, but he had always had difficulty with tellling people how he felt. Even now, even with Cory. Mac took a long, shaky breath. "I need you, Cory," he whispered. " Please come back to me. Please." He waited a minute, searching for a sign that she had heard him. "Please, Cory," he whispered, his voice now hoarse with emotion. "If you can hear me, please squeeze my hand…please Cory." Mac did not think she'd heard him after all. He continued to hold her hand. "Please," he whispered again, "Please." Suddenly he felt the slightest flutter of movement. He looked down and saw the fingers on the small pale hand he was holding, slightly twitch and then slowly…so very slowly, they wrapped around his larger calloused hand. Mac sat very still; if he was imagining everything he did not wish to wake up and if it was really happening, he did not want to do anything to disturb her.

Eventually, Mac heard a soft sigh. He looked down and at Cory and realized that she was sleeping; a normal, deep, healthy sleep. He gently brushed the hair from her forehead and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I have some things to take care," he said quietly. "But I will come back. Soon. I will come back very soon."

With that, he turned and walked out where Jack and Staedler were waiting for him. He exchanged a nod with Staedler, who returned to the room. He realized that Jack was just hanging up his cell phone. "You OK," Jack asked. Mac nodded. It was not entirely the truth, but this was as good as it was going to be for the time being. Jack understood. "Good," he said. "That was Sarah. We now know where Nikki is headed. Ready to go to work, Buddy?" Again, Mac nodded.

"Let's do this," he said.


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you sure you know what you're doing," Bozer asked for what must have been the tenth time. He was standing guard, in front of Cory's door – actually he was blocking Riley who was trying to pick the lock. That Mac and Jack wanted them to go look for Cory's computer was obvious, but the least they could have done was leave a key. 

"Got it," Riley murmured. When she saw Bozer's raised eyebrow, she shrugged philosophically, "The fruits of a misspent youth." 

Bozer looked at the young woman, “I shouldn’t ask, should I?” 

Riley shook her head as she opened the door and let both of them in. 

Upon entering Cory’s apartment, Riley found herself saying a small apology to Cory for invading her space. “I’m so sorry Cory. But I just want to see if I can figure out who wanted to hurt you.” She looked around the small living room, noting the various plaques and awards. “She’s realy smart, isn’t she,” Riley asked Bozer. 

“Yeah, she is,” Bozer said. “Mac always said that she was just as smart as him…maybe smarter…but in a different way.” Bozer looked around again. “You know how Mac is smart about things…Cory…well Cory is smart about people.” 

Riley was nodding. She’d found a photo of Mac and Cory together; it looked to be pretty recent. “They are pretty close, huh?” 

“Very close,” Bozer said. “Before she died, their mom made them each promise to take care of the other..to be there for each other. It was her final wish for her kids…I think they took it really seriously.” Bozer took a breath. “This thing with Cory…its killing Mac. I think he hides it pretty well, but this has been harder on him than anything I have ever seen him go through. And, dammit…he’s my best friend,I hate seeing him in so much pain. Anything that we can do to help him. Riley…anything at all…and I’m there. 

Riley had been listening and nodding sympathetically. She did not know Mac as well as Bozer and Jack did, but it was moments like this which gave her insight and which helped her understand how one man could inspire so much loyalty in others. She nodded. “Let’s find her computer and I’ll get to work.” The two scanned the room and quickly saw a backpack with the CIA logo on it. Unzipping the main compartment, they found the laptop. "OK, then," Riley mumbled. "Lets see what we have here." She placed the laptop on the desk, connected her own laptop to it and began to type. 

The room was silent except for the clicking of the keys for several minutes until Riley looked up. "Its using an algorithm based encryption key." More typing. 

"Is that good," Bozer asked. 

"Its better than the alternative," Riley replied, eyes still on the screen. It Cory set the password, its totally random and my chance of figuring it is minimal. This is based on an algorithm, and I can hack the algorithm." 

Bozer was impressed...but he always impressed with Riles. "How long will this take?" 

"At least 6 to 8 hours," came the instant reply. 

"Hmm..," Bozer's forehead wrinkled as he thought. "Maybe...while we are waiting, we can do something useful." 

Riley looked up, interested. "What are you thinking?" 

Bozer paused. "All this work. All this investigation into what the Organization is who wants you all dead. ..and we seemed to have forgotten something....we haven't asked the guy who actually did the shooting." 

Riley gasped and looked up from the computer. "Murdoc?", she said. 

Bozer nodded."Let's go be agents," he said. 

__________________________________________________________________ 

An hour later, Riley and Bozer walked through a hallway that echoed with their foot steps and stopped in front of a metal door with a small window. The guard looked them over and checked their IDs. With the slightest shake of his head, he opened the door and let them in. 

The room that they entered was bare except for a bolted down table and several chairs. The orange clad figure sat behind the table. He looked up, his eyes almost feral and he broke out into a cold smile. 

"Miss Davis," he purred. "Mr. Bozer...."Its so nice that you have to see me." He paused in what was meant to me mock surprise..., "Oh. This is not a social call?" Murdoc formed his mouth into a pucker of disappointment. "Oh well then. I suppose you are here to ask me questions." 

"Who hired you?" Bozer snapped. 

"I have no idea." 

"How do you get paid?" 

"Electronically. Its all about the numbers." 

Riley was thinking furiously. He was too glib. He had pat answers. They were not asking the right questions. 

"What was your mission?" She asked 

"Very good, Miss Davis," Murdoc cooed in a way that made Riley want to take a shower. "My mission was the elimination of certain human targets." 

"Which targets," Riley pressed. "Who were you hired to kill." 

Murdoc's eyes became rock hard. "Who is lying in the hospital near death?" He snarled. "Do you think I make mistakes?" 

"So if Cory was your intended target," Boser said, "What about the rest? Mac, Jack, Riley, Thornton." 

The slightest flicker passed across Murdoc's face, he was clearly enjoying himself and did not want to be reminded of the victims he failed to claim. 

"A bonus for any others that were eliminated."Again the cold smile. "Now Angus...Angus is something spelcial altogether. That was really the hunt for me. I'd never hunted anybody like him." He practically licked his lips at the recollection while Riley and Bozer did their best to not flinch away in disgust. 

Bozer got an idea. "What was the purpose of eliminating Cory MacGyver," he asked. 

"Wrong question, Wilt." Came the response. 

"Wrong question or do you just not know the answer," Bozer challenged. 

"The girl is a cog. She is almost incidental. Meaningless outside of those few people who would miss her." These words were bit out. The fury beneath them palpable. Murdoc shut his mouth with an almost audible snap and regarded the two agents. 

"So there is a bigger game plan, isn't there," Bozer pushed. 

Murdoc just smiled. 

"What's the end game? Who is even playing the game?" Riled joined in. 

Murdoc continued to smile. "I think I am done talking for free." 

"What do you want, Murdoc." Boser asked. 

"A little light and culture in this dank, dark place." The agents remained silent. "A book. Just one book." He looked around. "Paradise Lost by Milton. Original First Folio. And mind you, not a reproduction. You bring me that and I may be able to provide you with a little more information." With that, Murdoc started to stare straight ahead, making it perfectly clear that the interview was over. 

__________________________________________________________________ Twenty minutes later, Bozer and Riley were in the car. Riley swore softly. "Well that was a waste of time. Where in the hell would we get a first folio copy of Paradise Lost. 

"This is LA," Bozer quipped. "I can get you just about anything...for a price." He dialed his phone. "Vince....yeah...its Wilt. Good. Its going good. Hey – I need a favor. I need a book...an expensive one. It’s a gift for somebody very important." Bozer listened for a few minutes. "Yeah, man. The book is Paradise Lost." Riley watched as Bozer smiled and then his face paled. "You want how much?" 

Riley handed him a piece of paper. "How much?" 

Bozer quickly scribbled the number. Low six figures. Riley looked at the number and nodded. "Ask for where he wants the money transferred." 

Bozer obliged and in a minute wrote a bank number. "Tell him he'll have the money within the hour and we better have the book within 2 hours." Bozer dutifully repeated the directions. 

Once he hung up the phone, Bozer looked at Riley. "How in the hell are you going to come up with that kind of cash within the hour." 

Riley had the grace to look a little sheepish. She flushed and then said, "You don't suppose that the Feds found everything when I was arrested, do you?" Bozer stared at her incredulously. "I hid the money. I never wanted to use it, but for this...to help Mac...I'd do it again." 

Boser nodded. "You're a good friend." 

"Let's go get that book."


	16. Chapter 16

Mac and Jack were waiting outside of the hospital when Sarah pulled up in a standard issue black SUV with tinted windows. 

"Subtle," Jack commented as the two men got in. Sarah rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore Jack. 

"We caught a break," the woman said. "We've been monitoring Nikki's lines of communication and we got lucky. There's going to be a meeting at a small church near Julian." 

At the name of the small town, Mac looked up. Jack caught his eye and nodded in understanding. What was Nikki playing at? Jack was sure that the bitch was playing mind games with Mac again, but he did not know why. Jack understood...Julian was the town where Mac and Nikki liked to go to stay in Mac's grandfather's old cabin. Mac returned the questioning glance with a bland, non-committal look. 

"Who's she meeting with?" Jack asked. 

"No idea," Sarah answered, "All we know is that something big is in the works, and your friend, Nikki," she glanced back at Mac, "is in the middle of it all." 

Jack was about to snap at Sarah for the snide remark when he felt Mac's hand on his shoulder. He looked back to acknowledge Mac's slight shake of the head – it was just not worth it. 

The meeting location turned out to be a small, rustic church just outside of town. Mac knew this location well, and a fresh spout of pain burned through his heart; he had always thought that someday...just maybe, he and Nikki...Mac shook his head in an effort to clear it of the unwelcome thoughts. He took a deep breath, "So now what?" 

"We wait," said Sarah, her voice tight with tension. Eyes hard and professional, Mac, Jack, and Sarah, chose their spots to keep an eye on as many entrances as possible and prepared to wait. 

Mac was lost in his own thoughts, when he heard the distinctive sounds of a car driving up the gravel road. He quickly signaled to the other two agents. Quietly, Mac made his way to the entrance of the church to wait for Nikki. 

He did not need to wait long. In a few minutes, she walked in. As always, Mac had to remember to breathe – no matter what he had tried, his body and his heart still remembered what they had had. "Hello," Nikki called out, apparently oblivious to the agents. 

"Hi, Nikki," Mac said dryly as he came around to face her. 

"Hi Mac," Nikki almost managed a conversational tone. She took a step toward the other agent, but was prevented from going further by Jack. He stepped in front of Mac with his weapon drawn and pointed at Nikki. Sarah also stepped toward the other woman with her gun at the ready. 

Caught between the two agents, Nikki stopped dead. "Alpha, Bravo, seven, three, Zulu, Gamma, two, niner," she called out. 

Confused Mac looked around; his confusion grew when he saw what Sarah and Jack were doing. "What are you doing," he yelled when he saw them lowering their weapons. 

"Something is going on here, Mac," Jack answered, his brow furrowed. "It seems that she's...," he took a breath and shook his head as if to clear it, "...that our girl Nikki is...," 

"...is one of ours," Sarah finished. 

Confused, Mac looked from Jack to Sarah and back again. "How's that again?," he asked. 

"That code is an emergency code for deep cover agents," Sarah explained as she put the safety back on her gun. She walked up to Nikki and grabbing her by the front of her shirt, shook her, "OK, talk," she commanded. 

Nikki took a breath and cast an apologetic look at Mac. "Mac....I am so so...," she did not finish. 

"You're talking to me," Sarah reminded her with another hard shake. 

"Ok, OK," Nikki said raising her hands as if in surrender. Sarah loosed her hold and Nikki walked over and perched on one of the pews. "About sixteen months ago, I was approached by a CIA task force. The lead, Steven Johns, became my handler. He told me that they believed that there was a mole at the highest level of the Phoenix Foundation and he needed my help to find it. He had proof and documentation, but no idea who it could be." 

Jack and Mac exchanged looks and Nikki chucked. "No. You two were never suspects. Not high enough and I know both of your proclivities to be Boy Scouts." 

Jack's eye brows raised all the way to high hair line...it had been a long time since anybody accused him of being something that wholesome. 

Nikki continued, "In any case. The more we dug, the more we figured out that this as not something specific to Phoenix. There was an entire network of high powered people in very influential positions across all the intelligence organizations that operated above and outside the law; we were never sure of their purpose other than profit." 

Jack was nodding. "Money is a pretty powerful motive," he said. "Maybe this...this...'Organization' just wants to make money." 

"Maybe," Sarah agreed, thoughtfully "but there is something more. There is chatter that makes us suspect, but nothing concrete enough to even give us a clue of what it may be." 

"That's what Cory was working on..," Mac said and the others nodded. Mac looked back at Nikki. "And that night...," he did not finish the question. 

"Steven ordered me to help steal the virus to prove my loyalty." "Prove your loyalty to whom?" Jack asked, dubiously. 

"To 'The Organization'," Nikki responded. Sarah was nodding. 

"And when you proved your loyalty, what did you find?" 

"Not a whole hell of a lot," Nikki replied. "They are crazy paranoid and I ave just recently got onto the trail of one of them." 

"Who?," Mac asked. 

"I only know him as Chrysalis." 

"This is a great story Jack interrupted. Where is your proof? All this should be sanctioned by your handler. Where is he?" 

"Dead," Nikki replied flatly. "He died in a car accident last week." She looked around. "It wasn't an accident." 

"Do you really expect us to believe this," Jack pushed. "What evidence do you have?" 

Nikki ignored Jack and focused on Mac. "I do have evidence, " she said, eyes flaring angrily. She looked at Mac, "'You know where it is, don't you?" 

And suddenly, Mac knew. "The cabin," he said. "My grandfather's cabin is up here," he clarified for Sarah. We...," he did not finish as his cell phone rang. 

Mac checked the caller and ID and picked up. "Yes," he said. "What did you find?" 

Jack watched his friend's face as it became grim. Mac nodded, "OK. Thank you. Can you keep this quiet for a bit? Thanks. I owe you." 

At the inquiring looks Mac took deep breath. "They identified the substance that guy was trying to inject into Cory's IV.....it was Botulinum toxin." 

"Botu..what?," Jack asked? "Do you mean, Botulism?" When Mac nodded ascent, Jack whistled. "That's pretty serious stuff. Can't it kill like a million people with one drop?" 

"Hundreds, " Mac corrected, "but, yeah. That's the stuff." 

"That's not something you can just buy at the market," Jack continued. "This is some serious spy craft." 

"I agree with Jack," Sarah said. "Only somebody with connections to an intelligence operation would be able to get it." She and Jack locked eyes, sharing one thought, but it was Mac who voiced what they did not want to say. 

"Cory does know something," Mac said bleakly. "And whatever it is, somebody wants to make sure it dies with her."


	17. Chapter 17

One of the things that never failed to amaze Bozer is that a bike messenger could and would deliver just about anything. In this case, after Riley transferred the money to the auction house, the First Folio edition of Paradise Lost was delivered to the house two hours later, by a surly twenty-something on a twenty speed bike. A quick look confirmed that the item was as promised.

"I guess we need to go back to," Riley paused, "...to him."

Bozer nodded, no more eager to return, but knowing that it was the only way to get any more answers. "How much longer until you can access Cory's computer?", he asked.

Riley checked. "An hour. Maybe ninety more minutes. I think its close. By the time we are done with...him, we should also have access."

"Wilt," the cold eyes grazed over the young man. "And Riley," Murdoch lingered on the woman just long enough to see her shudder involuntarily. "Were you successful in your quest?"

Bozer held up the carefully wrapped package and met Murdoch's gaze only to be startled by the look of almost desperate hunger in his eyes. "What do you think," he taunted.

"Give it to me," Murdoch's tone was almost pleading.

"Uh uh. Not until you talk," Bozer held the book just out of reach.

Murdoch's gaze was pure malevolence, but he took a deep breath and began speaking. "The New World Order is a very real thing, Wilt. There are some very important people who believe in it. Deeply. Passionately. These people will do anything. Sacrifice anything and anyone to the goal."

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Wilt pushed back. "I never took you for a tin foil hat type of guy. Murdering, sociopathic prick, sure, but not a conspiracy theorist."

Murdoch looked as if he would jump over the table separating him from Wilt.

"Sometimes people are just too smart for their own good," Murdoch looked at Riley. "I am sure you understand what I mean." Riley glared back.

"So Cory knows something and you were hired to...to...," Riley stumbled on the words

"To eliminate her," Murdoch finished, relishing the look of disgust on the woman's face.

Bozer was nodding. "Cory was your target. The rest of it was your sick game...you were entertaining yourself." Murdoch did not argue.

"So what does Cory know and who wanted it to keep her quiet," Riley asked.

Murdoch remained silent, looking meaningfully at the package on Bozer's lap.

"Ok, ok," Bozer handed the package to the other man.

Murdoch tore open the packaging then laid the book the table. He caressed the cover gently, even lovingly. Riley was disgusted, but could not look away as Murdoch continued stroking the book as if it was...Riley closed her eyes unwilling to think about it.

"You have your book. Finish your story," Bozer spoke in a cold measured tone unwilling to let Murdoch see his discomfort.

"Patience, patience, Wilt," Murdoch taunted. "I do not know what it is that young Cory is purported to know of why somebody was willing to pay...," Murdoch paused, "...what they were willing to pay. As to who...," he paused again.

This time both Bozer and Riley sat silently, unwilling to give the man what he wanted. Murdoch looked from one to the other and smiled a slow, feral smile. He started speaking,"Three, three, seven, nine," Riley grabbed for a piece of paper and a pen that she always carried in her jacket. Murdoch was continuing. "Zero, seven, five, two, seven, six, four, one, nine, seven, five."

With that, Murdoch sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, ignoring Riley and Bozer. He was clearly finished talking.

Bozer and Riley stepped outside. "I feel like I need to shower," Riley said leaning into Bozer for comfort."

"I know," Bozer commiserated. "I've never known anybody as twisted...but if it helps Mac and Cory."

Riley suppressed a shiver and nodded. "So...other than the fact that he is the creepiest, most twisted human being on earth, what do we know?"

Bozer stopped and thought. "We know that Mac was not the target and that Cory was. We suspected this, but now we have confirmation." Riley nodded. "And," Bozer stopped to look at the list of numbers that Riley wrote down,"we have a bank account number."

Riley looked surprised. "For whom?"

"No idea, but I am sure if Murdoch gave it to us, its important."

Riley checked her watch. The code on Cory's computer should be broken by now," she said. "We should probably go home to look. I don't like the idea of doing this in the open."

"I'll drive," Bozer said. "You figure out where the bank account is from."

"That sounds like a deal," the young woman smiled. As Bozer drove, Riley worked her magic. "OK," she said after a while. "The account is from Lloyd's Bank," Riley paused and hit some more keys. "Figures," she snorted in frustration, "it's a Swiss bank. They don't have to save any information so there is nothing for me to hack. It's a dead end."

"Maybe not," Bozer said chewing the inside of his lip. "If the bank is the US, they have to keep paper records. Its an FCC requirement."

"But I can't hack paper," Riley said.

"S'Ok, smart girl," Bozer chuckled. "I can. Lets figure out what's on the computer and then we can figure out what to do about the bank account."

Arriving home, Bozer went to do what he did best and started clattering pots and pans to make a snack. Riley sat at the kitchen table with Cory's computer opened and a look of intense concentration on her face.

Silence reigned for a full half hour as Riley clicked the keyboard and Bozer mixed and stirred. "How's it going," the man finally asked as he came to stand behind Riley to set down a plate of delicious smelling crepes.

Riley inhaled appreciatively, then looked at Bozer her eyes dark with concern. "I understand how her the model works," she said. "See," she said pointing to her screen. "Cory has created four scenarios and figured out the likelihood of each one happening. I can modify the percentages based on additional information, but since I don't have any, I'm leaving it alone." Bozer nodded. "This is really sophisticated statistical analysis," Riley said with some admiration. "The model seems to be really solid."

"But that's a good thing, right," Bozer asked, confused.

"Yes. Sort of. And sort of, this is a really, really bad thing."

Bozer looked confused and Riley explained. "The problem is, while I don't know what the scenarios actually are, I do know that which ever one happens, between one million and five million people could die."


	18. Chapter 18

Mac's comments about Cory being the intended target were met with a moment of stunned silence. Once again the world had shifted under their feet and they needed to adjust their perspective.

Mac's cell phone range into the silence. "Riley?" He said. "Were you able to find Cory's computer?" Mac listened intently and then nodded. "So she was on to something?" He again paused to listen. "Any idea what it may be?" His face grew grim. "Ok. Thanks, Riles." He hung up the phone.

"Looks like Cory was working on a predictive model," he said. "The problem is, we have no idea what the model is predicting. All we know is that Cory thinks that people – lots of people could die."

"Sarah," Jack said, "any idea..."

"No. No idea," the other agent answered. "I knew that she had some thoughts about the work that she'd been assigned and that she did believe that building the profile of...of what we now know as The Organization was not going to paint the whole picture." Sarah stopped thinking. "This other model may be a piece of the picture, but I have no clue how to put the pieces together."

Nikki was looking from face to face. The inaction was driving him crazy. "The hell with this," he growled. He approached Nikki again, his height and bulk looming over the slight blond. "You know something about all of this...I know you do...You'd better start talking and damn fast or I swear I will take you to Phoenix right now and find the deepest, darkest jail cell they have. I swear to God," he continued, glowering at the woman, "that they will never find you again."

"Jack...," Mac started, but the larger man cut him off.

"Don't any of you find it funny that somehow she is involved in all this. Somehow she is connected to Murdoc and to this Organization and...," he paused with a pained look at Mac, "...with Cory being shot. That's all a hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" He glared at the young woman who stared at him defiantly.

"Nikki, please." Mac said quietly. "If you can think of anything...anything at all that ties this all together...", he trailed off.

"Why?" Nikki was still rebellious, throwing dirty looks at Jack. "You won't believe me anyway."

Mac took a deep breath. "The cabin is only a couple of miles up the road. Let's assume we find the proof there. Now tell me...please...do you anything about any of this?"

As the team walked out of the church, Jack and Sarah scanned the area and lead the other two to the car.

Nikki was frowning. "I am so far from any of the leadership, but things still filter down...," she started. "Hints and rumors...nothing concrete...nothing to even investigate, but..."

"But what," Jack barked. "Come on. Spit it out."

Nikki sighed and then took a deep breath. "The Organization is all about power. Gathering power, trading power, selling power...These are highly connected people already. The question we need to ask is how do they get more power?"

Sarah and Jack got into the front seat and Mac stepped aside to let Nikki get in the back and then followed her in. Jack got behind the wheel, started the SUV and drove out of the parking lot; he's been to the cabin many times with Mac and could get their blindfolded. As they drove, he responded to Nikki's question.

"That's easy," Jack said. "They take it."

"Sure," Mac said, thinking out loud. "But this is the United States. Nobody can just seize power. The laws prevent that from happening."

"Unless...," Sarah started to say, "How did Lenin come to power in Russia? How did Hilter get power in Germany?"

"The people gave them ever-increasing authority," Mac replied. "The citizens voluntarily handed over their rights to these dictators...," his words trailed off as a realization hit. "In all cases, there was a crisis; war, famine...some type of upheaval. The governments would take advantage to consolidate their power."

Mac looked outside at the passing countryside. How many times had it been? How often had he and Nikki driven this road to the cabin? And now, here she was sitting next to him again. He sat quietly mulling over what he knew and what he didn't. Slowly a cold certainty settled in the pit of his stomach.

"The model," he muttered. Then louder. "Cory's model is predicting the upheaval that The Organization is going to use to consolidate their power. Somehow it will over throw the US government and take power while killing a lot of people."\

"That's information somebody would kill for," Jack said. He looked over at Mac. "Don't worry, buddy. Triad won't let anything happen to her. Nobody is going to get through them." Mac nodded, hoping that Jack was right.

"I gotta say, though," Jack continued, "that sounds like some type of tin foil hat conspiracy. 'New World Order' type of stuff. That's usually my job, Mac. Do you know how you're sounding right now, Brother?" Jack saw Mac nodding.

"Yeah. I know," Mac said hollowly. "I really wish I was wrong, but I don't think so. I don't know what, when or where, but I am positive there will be some kind of event that will destroy the US government and let The Organization take over."

"We need to tell Thornton," Jack said, but Nikki shook her head.

"We don't know where The Organization had operatives. We can't trust anybody."

"See," Jack said. "That's what I've been saying..." He cast a hard glance at Nikki again.

Nikki ignored him. "Then its even more important that I get close to Chrysalis. Maybe he knows something."

Jack had pulled into a small side road and had stopped in front of a rustic cabin. "First prove to me that I can trust you," he said and motioned Nikki out of the car.

"I'll go with you," said Mac.

As the two agents approached the cabin, something seemed wrong to Mac. He reached out to touch Nikki's shoulder causing her to slow down. He listened carefully. It was quiet...almost too quiet. He didn't hear any of the usual sounds of small animals and birds in the bushes and trees...it was as if something...or someone had scared them away. Mac scanned the ground...then he saw it...a small wire that should not have been there. He knew immediately what he was seeing.

"Nikki," he yelled. "Stop!"

The woman stopped and turned toward his voice just as the cabin exploded.


	19. Chapter 19

Mac was facing the explosion and was thrown backward; he landed with a thud that rattled his teeth and knocked the breath out of his lungs. He felt rather than heard himself groan when he tried to roll over. The debris was still falling around him like a dry, dusty rain. "Nikki," he called. "Nikki...," he stopped realizing the if he couldn't hear himself she would not be able to either. He felt rattled and fuzzy and was having trouble focusing. He rubbed his eyes and looked around again...there...he saw her. She was lying face down and not moving. Mac tried to get up and found himself being helped up by a pair of strong hands. He looked up over his shoulder and saw Jack with his usual grin, but with his eyes clouded with worry.

Jack was speaking, but Mac pointed to his ears indicating that he still could not hear. "Nikki," he said, moving urgently.

Mac's heart was hammering as he checked for a pulse and he released his breath when he felt a steady pulse on the woman's carotid artery. Gently, he and Jack rolled Nikki over and her eyes fluttered open.

"What the hell was that," Nikki asked. Her voice sounded distant and tinny to Mac's ears, but he was relieved that he was able to hear.

"I don't think the question is 'what'," Jack growled, "I think the question is 'who'? Who would know that we were coming here so that they could set up the booby trap which they would then conveniently trigger."

"Jack…," Mac started, but he did not get the chance to finish as a bullet sizzled over his head and smashed into the tree behind him.

Jack had his revolver out and was standing in front of Mac. Nikki had managed to scramble up and reached for her gun only to remember that she had been relieved of it back at the church. "Who the hell…," she started to say, but Mac grabbed her hand and ran.

"Less talking, and more running," he gasped and he pulled the woman toward the car.

Mac could not see the shooters, but the bullets were impacting all around it. Judging from the sound and amount of dirt they kicked up, these were large calibers. He heard Nikki cry out and felt her hand jerk in his, but he could not spare a look backward and as long as she was still running, he was focused on the car in front of him. They reached the SUV and saw Sarah crouching by the door returning fire; she was firing in the general direction the from which the shots appeared to be coming, but it was just a guess as she had not seen anybody yet. Mac and Nikki threw themselves in the back seat and covered their heads while Nick and Sarah continued to engage in the fire fight.

"These guys are good," she yelled to Jack who was behind Mac and Nikki and who had just managed to half roll, half fall into the vehicle.

"Pros," Jack confirmed as he laid down more cover fire. "How about we get the hell out of here?" Sarah jumped into the drivers seat and hit the gas. A few bullets ricocheted off the SUV, but were not close enough to do much damage.

Mac and Nikki were finally able to sit up and Mac glanced at the young woman next to him. "Nikki?" he said tentatively when he realized that she was grabbing her left bicep with her other…. And that there was blood seeping through her fingers.

"Just a graze," Nikki said, but her eyes showed that she was in pain.

"Let me see what I can do," Mac said his voice gentle. Nikki nodded and sat back, her head on the headrest and her eyes closed.

"Where to?" Sarah asked.

"I think we should find the deepest, darkest hoe we can and climb into it for a while" Jack suggested. Sarah flashed him an irritated look, but after a moment she nodded.

"Actually not a bad idea. The CIA can help out on this one and nobody needs to know that we are there." She floored the SUV.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________  
"Damn, damn, damn," Riley swore as it took all of her self control to not slam the computer. She was back to working on her own machine with Cory's computer standing open next to her, the screen full of scrolling data as Riley tried to discover if it held any other secrets.

"What is it," Bozer asked from the kitchen.

"I can't do anything with the number that Murdoc gave is. I have entered it into every search engine that I can think of, but nothing comes up." She stopped a moment to think. "I mean its always possible, that the numbers don't mean anything and Murdoc just threw together a string to throw us off"

"Hmm," Bozer replied coming over to look at the numbers again over Riley's shoulder. All of a sudden his eyes lit up with recognition. "Aw man, I'm an idiot," he said. "This is an account number. Like at a bank. I should have realized it before." Bozer's brow knit in concentration. "The number will tell us everything from which bank it is to which branch and to who the account belongs. We just need to know how to read it."

Riley was already typing. "OK," she said with her eyes focused on the screen. "This account is from Credit Susie…a Swiss bank..not really surprising," she said.

"Can you hack in?" Bozer asked.

"Not from this computer," Riley said. "If we were at Phoenix, I'd have access to a lot more equipment, but here…not so much."

Something beeped on Cory's computer and Riley looked over. "Oh boy," Riley whispered. "I think we need to call Mac."

"Not too shabby," Jack said expansively as he looked around the suite at the Ritz Carlton , "not too shabby at all."

"So glad you approve," Sarah said tartly.

"Now what?" Mac asked as he sat on the couch with Nikki re-wrapping the bandage on her arm.

"Now we stay low and quiet and figure out what we do next," Jack said pulling a beer from the wet bar fridge, blithely ignoring the dirty look Sarah cast his way. His phone vibrated and he reached for it. "Yeah?" He said. "Uh huh…."That's the best news I've heard all day. Thanks buddy," He hung up. Looking at Mac with a huge smile. "That was Arends – the third member of the Triad team," Mac nodded remembering the Delta team soldier. "Cory's regained consciousness and she's asking for you."  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Hospital

"That was well done, Mr. Arends. Now put the phone down and step away from the bed." The large man, glared at the nurse…the same one who had been caring for his charge for the last few days. She was exactly the same except now she had a gun to Cory's temple. "Do it," the woman spat. "I realize we are at the hospital, but I promise you, if I put a bullet in her head, she will not recover."

Arends nodded, setting his phone on the ground and kicking it over toward the woman to join his gun.

"Very good," the "nurse" purred. She reached for her own phone. "Its done"


End file.
